Chain me free
by XxeNVyxX42
Summary: Edward breaks up with Bella, but the Cullens refuse to move away from Forks. Edward and Alice continue to attend school and Bella transitions better than anyone could have thought.An old friend's arrival shakes life up.Can Edward control his jealousy?
1. Numb

Summary:

Edward is afraid that if he continues his relationship with Bella that her life will be in danger. He decides to break it off, but his family doesn't want to leave Forks. They stay enrolled in Forks high school and Bella transitions better than anyone could have imagined. Could her new friend have anything to do with it? Can Edward keep his jealousy in check long enough to see his plan for Bella's safety through?

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

BPOV

After spending the weekend in bed crying my eyes out and being in a state between consciousness and sleep I decided that I need to pick myself up. In the back of my mind I always knew that this would happen. He is just so perfect. It was a miracle I was able to be with him for this long. I need to just devote my time to school and college plans. The better I do the faster I can leave Forks and these bad memories behind.

"Bella! Bella! Get up you have a phone call!" Charlie shouted up the stairs

"Coming!" I practically scrambled out of bed. Is it Edward? Did he change his mind? "Hello?"

"Hey Izzy, happy belated birthday!"

"Tristan?" I was shocked it has been over a year since I heard from him.

"Yeah Iz, I was looking over my calendar and I could not believe I missed your birthday. Forgive me?"

"Please, it's Bella, and trust me you did not miss much this year." I shuddered as I replayed the disaster that was my birthday.

"It is the big one eight though! And you will always be my Izzy, don't try that_ call me Bella_ crap, you should know better."

"So what have you been up to Tristan? You usually are able to keep in touch better than this. No phones in New Mexico?"

"Yeah the whole state is cut off, but thank God now I am in Seattle, the land of phones"

I could practically hear the expectant smile on his face. Thinking back to all the drama of the last few days I was happy to hear that I had a close friend in the same state. If I had not been so numb I think I would have insisted on seeing him that minute.

"I will take that silence as excitement Izz. I have to go, but I want to see you in a couple weekends. I have some stuff to take care of but have Renee vouch for me with your Dad and come to see me k?"

"Yeah, I'll do that but I am not sure if he will go for it."

"I believe in you oh and take down my number. Bye Izz"

"Bye"

The next day was school. I contemplated staying in bed, but I knew that I need to get up and join the rest of the world. Plus I knew I would at least get to see him. Maybe it will be different. I got to school and I saw the shiny silver Volvo pull up. Alice and Edward got out of the car and I looked after them but, he did not so much as look up at me. I felt tears welling up in my eyes but I just took a minute to compose myself then I ran to the office. Mrs. Cope looked at me and asked what I needed. I told her I wanted to enroll in some advance classes to improve my transcript. She sent me to the counselor and after 30 mins I had a brand new schedule. Basically we moved everything around to get me into Calculus and AP Sciences. I tried to push my luck and skip Gym, but I need 4 years so I was stuck. The good news is that now I had no classes with Edward. I got through my morning classes alright and barely noticed anything but the lessons being taught. At lunch I went to the table.

"Where were you this morning?" Angela asked

"Oh, I changed my schedule around so I could switch my math and science classes. I was looking into some colleges and I thought it would improve my chances."

"Oh, that makes sense. Do you and Edward still have some classes together?"

"No, I think it is for the best though. I really need to concentrate." I tried to keep my tone light and conversational but, of course Angela is too insightful.

"Is everything ok with you two?" She looked so worried and I just could not keep my emotions reined in. I felt the tears pool in my eyes and I excused myself and hid in the bathroom.

"Bella? Please let me in …" Angela called softly though the stall door.

I came out and she grabbed me up in a big hug.

"You two broke up?"

I nodded and then she let me cry it out. I thought I had done all my crying over the weekend, but I guess I was wrong. I cleared my eyes as best as I could and we headed off to class.

EPOV

I sat in my usual seat and waited for Bella to enter. I knew I was going to have to ignore her, but I was so excited to see her. The bell rang and she was not in class. I saw her in the parking lot this morning. Did she go home? I told them this would be too difficult if we stayed. I should have insisted we go. After class I was tempted to go and find her, but I said I was going to leave her alone. Okay second period. Still no Bella.

_Wow Bella is now in 3 of my classes, I wonder if she finally left that jerk Cullen. Maybe she will need a shoulder this weekend. I think there is a new comedy playing in Port Angeles she might want to watch._

Mike Newton's thoughts came spilling into my head when he thought her name. I wanted to reach over the desk and punch him. I tried to keep my emotions off my face. I blocked out all thoughts for the rest of class.

If she wanted to go out of her way to keep from seeing me I would try and make that as easy for her as possible. Alice and I didn't go to the usual table at lunch instead we opted to stay outside under a big oak. I still could see Bella's table but I don't think she could see us.

"Edward, I don't see the point in putting either you through this. You love her and look what it is doing to the two of you"

She pointed as Bella abruptly left the table. Angela threw their trays and followed after her.

"Alice, I would rather her be sad and safe than put her I danger any longer. I need to make sure she will be okay and we only have another semester before she goes to college. So just drop it ok?"

She gave me this pained look and I knew she disapproved.

_____Fast Forward (2 weeks) to Friday _____

BPOV

Mike has taken his spot next to me after each class we had together. It felt like my first weeks all over again. Today he was extra clingy though. He kept starting as if he was going to say something then just changed his mind. Finally, during P.E. I asked him,"Mike, is there something you want to talk about?"

"Well, I know that you have been feeling really low since you and – he broke up"

It looks like he caught on to the fact that I couldn't stand to hear his name which was surprisingly insightful for the usually dense Mike.

"Well, did you want to go to Port Angeles tonight or tomorrow to watch a movie? I really think being out with a friend may cheer you up."

I was quiet, I knew I needed to keep my friends if I was going to survive walking the halls with him every day, but going out on what would be considered a date with anyone is just too painful.

"I am actually spending the weekend with a friend of mine from Phoenix. I will be in Seattle all weekend."

"Oh okay" Mike said looking like I wounded him. I hated to see that disappointed look on anyone's face.

"Maybe another weekend though" I flashed him a smile and then I quickly regretted it as I saw a flash of amber eyes narrow in my peripheral. I don't know what happened but something in me just snapped. He broke my heart and now he is spying on me? I turned to where I saw his eyes and he was gone.

After class I went to the parking lot and stood by the Volvo. Alice arrived first. "Bella, how are you? I miss you so much."

"Hi Alice, I miss you too, it is just too hard right now. . . I am sorry I have been so distant. Where is Edward?"

"Bella I think you should know something . . . "

"Alice, go wait in the car!" Edward growled."What do you want Bella?'

"You left me, you broke my heart, and you have no right to spy on me. If you are so bored with me then why meddle in my life?" I began to tear up.

"You are right; if you want to date Mike Newton then you should be free to do so. Goodbye Bella"

He didn't even raise his voice. He used his cold vampire voice which made everything much worse.

He was in the car yelling at Alice as they drove away. I was so angry! I needed to get out and just forget about Edward and school. I drove home and called Tristan.

"Izzy? I am glad you called. When can I see you? "

"I need to get out of town could I stay with you this weekend?"

"Yeah of course I have an apartment right outside of campus. I'll come pick you up in like 2 hours."

"Sounds great, I have missed you so much. See you"

I called Charlie and let him know I would be gone for the weekend. At first he protested but I subtly reminded him that I am 18 and I said I didn't want to spend all weekend in my room crying so he relented and I went to pack. After 2 weeks of nightmares and non-stop zombie behavior I think a part of Charlie was glad I was making plans that did not include moping.

An hour and a half later I heard an engine roar up my street and then I flung the front door open and ran to greet Tristan. I was so excited I jumped into his arms. He scooped me up in a huge bear hug. It was just like old times back in Phoenix, before I had my heart broken, before I knew about the supernatural, before my destiny was robbed by my fragile state.

EPOV

"Alice what part of stay out of it don't you understand?!? You know why I am putting her through this."

"Then why do you care if Mike wants to watch a movie with her. Why would you care if she said yes and they dated or got married or whatever course her life will take? You love her Edward; I still see her becoming one of us."

"No, I will not do that to her."

"Well, you should at least apologize to her. Calm down then go to her and make this right. After that maybe she can try and move on."

"I will on the condition that you stay out of her future and you let me figure this out."

"Fine, but you know I am always right in the end."

I decided to go and hunt, then I ran over to Bella's. I was about to climb in through the window, but I realized that would be too familiar. I peered into the window and she was packing a bag. She really was going to a friend's for the weekend. I thought she said that to get out of plans like she had been doing for the last couple weeks. Then I heard an engine approaching . . . a 1967 GTO? In Forks? Bella heard it too and she ran downstairs. I ran to the front of the house to see who had arrived. I did not recognize him; he was a tall guy with brown hair and deep green eyes. Just then Bella flew out of the front door and jumped into his arms. He held her and gave her a quick peck on the lips. I wanted to rip her from his arms and controlling the hurt and anger that coursed through my body made me insane. Who was this guy? She said she didn't have a boyfriend back in Phoenix. Did she lie? No, she is a terrible liar. Why are they so comfortable together? The questions were swirling in my head and I had to get out of there before I did something dangerous. I ran back to the meadow and if I could cry I would have sobbed out of anger and hurt. I still loved this girl. How can I stay here and watch?

It was 3 am by the time I found the strength to go back to the house.

"Edward, what is wrong? Where have you been?" Esme took me in her arms and tried to comfort me. I felt nothing.

" I am just trying to cope with my decision. Alice insisted her life would be horrible if we left town. I am trying to stay but I can't be this close to her without being with her."

Esme tried to smooth my hair and she soothed," It will all work out Edward."

**(A/N) Is this something you want me to continue? Any feedback welcome.**


	2. Tristan

**I was not really expecting too much of a response, but my email is full with story alerts and such so I guess I will post the next chapter. Thanks!**

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

__________________________________________________________________________________

BPOV

Tristan and I were speeding down the freeway in his car. . . .

"I cannot believe you drove your Precious car all the way from Phoenix. Isn't that like a car sin or something?"

This was a beautiful classic 1967 GTO restored blah blah blah. I just know it was supposed to be a special car. I never listen to all the car gibberish that comes out of his mouth when he brags about his car. "All American muscle . . ." Blah Blah Blah, "Yeah, Vin Diesel drives one in XXX . . ." I just thought it was impressive and it was a custom green paint that matched his eyes perfectly. He planned it just that way, but he will not admit it.

"Nah my car is tuff he can handle it. Plus we are connected on a spiritual level, don't worry Izzy one day you will have a big girl car and you will know how I feel."

"Hey my car is older than yours, plus she runs just fine show some respect."

"You mean that red antique you had parked in front of your house? I am surprised it even runs"

"Ha-ha, well at least you haven't lost your wonderful sense of humor" I rolled my eyes and he chuckled. "So what kind of trouble are you getting me into this weekend Tristan?"

"Trouble? What are you talking about? I am going to be a great chaperone this weekend. No drunken keg stands for you Miss Swan."

"Oh well that's good to hear and I don't do keg stands on the weekend I save that for a thirsty Thursdays anyways"

"Great you will fit in perfectly. "

Our conversation flowed as if we had not been apart the last year. I hadn't seen Tristan since he left for college two summers ago. He called me for my 17th birthday and then we both were so busy that it was impossible to get a hold of one another. He actually only found out I had moved to Forks when Renee visited him at school. Tristan was always welcome in our house. He was literally the boy next door for years. When Renee and Phil began to travel a lot Tristan would keep me company. We always had a flirtatious relationship, but we never jumped to anything more than little kisses and hand holding. In fact when I started seeing Edward I missed Tristan a lot. He used to use my bedroom window instead of the front door when he would visit. Renee thought it was cute, Phil … not so much. I wonder what Charlie would think?

When we got into Seattle We stopped in a small café to eat dinner and continue catching up. He told me about this girl he dated in New Mexico. They were hot and heavy for about 5 months then she cheated on him. He thought they were in love so he took her back and everything was fine until she started becoming super possessive. He got tired of checking in with her for every little thing and she would wait in his dorm room and other crazy things. That was a big reason that he left after his freshman year.

"I was going to move back to Phoenix, but I had also heard about the English program in Seattle. When Renee told me you had moved to Forks I was a little surprised but it definitely was a big point for Seattle. Plus I missed you"

"Aww, tear" I forced back fake sniffles and mockingly returned the sentiment "I missed you too"

"Okay, now I remember why I moved" He rolled his eyes

We got back to his apartment at about 9pm and he told me that he actually was going to see a band play at a local bar. I didn't even get to see the apartment since we had to hurry before their set began.

We were able to sneak in through the side door and it was a fun night. The band was an 80's pop cover band. They could barely play 3 chords, but they had so much fun the whole bar enjoyed it. Tristan got us a couple of drinks and it was just like old times. (Music and underage drinking always two very responsible ways to spend the weekend.) We headed to an after party at one of his classmates houses down the street from the bar. I met so many people and being with an old friend was so comfortable that I didn't even think about _him_ or his family all night.

We walked back to the apartment around 3 am. Our tipsy state had faded over an hour ago and we were just talking music and books. I could not believe how tired I was. One minute I was discussing lyrics and the next I was in the forest outside of Charlie's house being dumped. Edward was standing there. His eyes ice cold. I had this dream almost every night. I knew he was about to leave me and I would wander the woods until Victoria or another nightmare would find me. Instead I felt a shock run through my body and a warm hand on my cheek wiping away tears.

"Iz, wake up, Bella calm down." I opened my eyes and Tristan was looking at me with so much worry in his eyes I wanted to cry.

"Who is Edward?" I winced at the mention of his name and then I ran through the six months I knew the Cullen's and the whole bad break up through today, of course I edited the whole they are veggie vamps and I didn't actually fall out a window I was attacked by a normal vampire part. Tristan just listened and held me in the nook between this head and shoulder.

"Bella you are an amazing girl, Edward may seem perfect now, but I am sure that you will eventually move on and you will see that love has a blinding effect on people." Tristan was sounding much older than he usually did. "Before crazy possessive girl was crazy possessive girl I thought of her as Jessica. She was pretty and smart and damn near perfect in every way. Things change and time heals all."Tristan practically whispered into my hair. Then he kissed my forehead. This usually would cheer me up, but Edward said almost the same thing while he was dumping me. For humans time heals all wounds. He is too distracted by his exciting "vamp" world to even give me a thought.

He put on some oldies and we drifted back to sleep. I didn't dream.

The next morning I woke up to our usual breakfast waffles and ice cream. We had this every time Tristan stayed over back at Renee's. It was something he picked up in middle school and passed on to me. Tristan was playing his guitar and I grabbed my plate to sit beside him. He played a little and I would improve some lyrics between bites.

You think you know me  
Word on the street is that you do  
You want my history  
What others tell you won't be true

I walked a thousand miles while everyone was asleep  
Nobody's really seen my million subtleties

Got stains on my t-shirt and I'm the biggest flirt  
Right now I'm solo, but that will be changing eventually, oh  
Got bruises on my heart and sometimes I get dark  
If you want my auto, want my autobiography  
Baby, just ask me

"Wow that was really good."

"Ha-ha I think you need more ice cream that was just us messing around."

"Well it is a little pop-ish but I know we could sell it."

"What? Okay maybe less ice cream is the way to go." I pulled his plate away from him

"No seriously, how do you think I can afford to live off campus alone?"

I shrugged "You moonlight as a burglar?"

"No, I have been selling songs to record labels for talent. I am limited when it comes to lyrics though."

"You wouldn't have to work on so many scholarship applications if you had a decent paying job . . ."

"Plus it would get me out of Forks if I were helping you" I said mulling over the perks

"I don't see a downside!" He started humming with excitement.

We worked on lyrics for some of the songs he wrote and came up with a few he would pitch in the next week. It was nice to have a project outside of school. Plus writing was like living someone else's life and not drowning in mine.

That night we fell asleep on the couch and again no dreams. I woke up refreshed and decided it was time to go home. Charlie would be fishing with some friends and I would have the house to myself to finish homework and mentally prepare for school the next day. Tristan obeyed speed limits all the way to forks which was nice for a change plus it gave us more time together. When we arrived at my house I saw that Billy and Jacob were over and I brought Tristan in to meet everyone. Jacob led the way to Tristan's car and they all started ooo-ing and awe-ing. While they spoke "car" I went to my room to start my homework. After a couple hours I heard Tristan at my door. He needed to get back to school so I walked him out. As he drove off, Charlie called me into the kitchen.

"So that is Tristan?" Charlie was putting his dad mask on "Renee talks about him like he is a little boy"

"Well she has known him for a while dad. He was like extended family back in Phoenix"

"So he is like a brother to you Bells?" He was defiantly fishing for info.

"Yeah, I guess Ch- Dad. We have been close friends for a while and you know I am only up to having _friends_ right now." I hoped Charlie understood my subtle end to this conversation. "I have some homework to finish then I am going to bed k?"

"Oh yeah ok Bells, Night"

I did my homework and then took a warm shower. I checked my email and I had an e-mail from Tristan. It was a link to an online journal site. I clicked the link and there were songs and lyrics he has been working on. I was surprised to see so many with a sold tag on it.

I listened to them as I drifted off to sleep.

**(A/N:**** I just thought a background of Tristan and Bella's relationship would help please let me know what you think. In New Moon Bella had the motorcycle project to help her get over Edward and I just could not resist a hot boy and a guitar tie in. Oh and don't worry I am working on an Edward chapter too.)**


	3. Who is this girl?

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

EPOV

Saturday was abnormally sunny in Forks, but I could not stay inside with my family. I needed to get out and think. I thought that being able to see Bella would help me deal with the decision I made. It has been so difficult.

I decided to go for a run to clear my head but it was of no use, I just ended up at her house. It was empty; Charlie must have been called to work. There have been so many large animal complaints lately and I am sure that was what kept Chief Swan busy. Emmett has taken the appearance as a personal challenge. He came back a couple days ago and has tried to get me to help him find this huge bear. I am obviously sulking so I would be no help.

I climbed into Bella's window, I know that is creepy but I just need to be near her. Her room is the same, books and CDs scattered through-out the room. Her pillow smells like tears and I can't help but feel pain rush through my body as soon as I recognize the scent. I have spent so much time in this room but usually I am distracted by watching her. I longed to see her.

I grabbed her photo box off the shelf in her closet and looked through them. I have never seen these before. Mostly pictures of Renee.

Bella age 5:

I opened the envelope and there was Bella looking as unhappy as ever in a pink ballet outfit

_She sure was a cute kid_

Bella age 7:

Bella and Renee with a cactus in what looks like her back yard

Bella smiling and missing teeth

Bella age 12:

Cooking and baking

_This must be when she became shy; most of the pictures are of Renee. If she is in them she is hiding or making a face._

Bella age 15:

This could not be right. It looks like Bella was going to a dance. There were a few girls I didn't recognize from the few stories she told. A few pictures later there he was. The picture had writing on the back.

Had to Renee's handwriting it was so neat.

_Bella, Tristan, Jen B., Jen S., Andy, and Mike Sadie Hawkins Freshman year_

She was so pretty in a dress that was very flattering and in that deep blue that I loved to see her in.

Then there were a few wallet sized pictures in the same folder. All her friends in their prom poses, none of Bella though. Tristan had a few in here with the same girl. There were also a few pictures of Bella and that girl. I guess they weren't a couple. I felt a swell of relief.

I put the pictures back in the envelope and grabbed another labeled recent

It was of the summer before she came to forks. There was a picture of her and Tristan in one of those cheesy staged photos you take in theme parks. Then a few more at a water park, Bella wearing a bikini? It even looked like she had a bit of a tan. Who is this girl? She looks so happy. I miss seeing her smile; I haven't seen that since before her birthday. The rest of the box had CDs and sheet music. Concert ticket stubs and stickers. Flyers that she had in her room back in Phoenix. I wonder why she never shared this box with me. Why was I putting myself through this? I shouldn't be in here.

I put it back on the shelf and hopped out her window. I ran back to my house and Alice was having a vision. As soon as she heard me she ran into the woods. It must be about Bella. Well I asked her to keep it to herself so I decided to let it go and I locked myself away in my room. Esme and Carlisle were talking in the living room about Alice seeing Bella change. They can't understand why I won't just give her what she wants. Carlisle is such a good person and his faith is so pure that he cannot fathom the lack of our souls. I know I don't have one. I can see Bella's every time she smiles or cries and I will not take it from her.

I felt Emmett coming up the stairs before I heard him. He burst in the room and jumped on the couch where I sat.

"Find the bear yet?" I asked uninterested

"Actually, I found the trail of something big, but it definitely is not a bear. It disappears into the Quileute res. It is more than one something big too."

"Wolf?"

"A really foul sewer wolf maybe!" Emmett covered his nose to emphasize his point

"I thought the weres would have died out by now. We should make sure to stick to the treaty lines just in case though."

"Well you guys can worry about that I am going back to Rose. It has only been a couple days, but it is more than I can handle. I am so disappointed about the bear; I thought that I finally was going to get a challenge."

There was a long pause . . .

"Bye Edward"

"uh huh" Then I fell right back into zombie mode

_How long is he going to stay like this? I have never seen him so distant._

"I'm working on it!" I said exasperated

"I didn't _say_ anything Edward . . ." Emmett's voice trailed

Then he was gone.

I tried playing some soothing music and relaxed. I wish I could sleep. I feel so useless lying here.

Alice's soft footsteps brought me out of my head.

"Edward, are you going to zone out in here for much longer? It has been over a day. Bella has gone to bed already you will just have to apologize at school I guess . . ."

"Over a day?"

"Yeah, you didn't realize did you? Are you okay?"

_He must really . . . Love her . . ._

----- Flashback -----

Edward and Emmett hunting trip (Midnight Sun)

You really . . . Love her?

"I can't even describe it, Emmett. All of a sudden this girl's the whole world to me. I don't see the _point_ of the rest of the world without her anymore"

"But you won't change her? She won't last forever Edward"

"I know that," I groaned

"And, as you've pointed out she's sort of breakable"

"Trust me - that I know, too"

------ End flashback -----

"Yes Alice, I really do love her."

Monday at Lunch

Alice and I sat at the table we used to share with our siblings. Bella kept stealing quick glances over at us.

"She is going to come over, be nice!" Alice hissed too low for anyone but me to hear

Then a minute later I see Bella get up and walk towards us.

"Hi Alice, could I sit for a sec?" She looked really worried as if Alice would bite her head off or something.

"Of course Bella. How are you? We barely get to see one another."

_I am so glad she thought of me to go with her. I miss having her around, oh and shopping is always fun, even with Bella and her negativity towards fashion. _

"I'm , fine . . . I have missed you too. Plus I wanted to see if you would help me on a shopping type mission."

"Shopping huh? I am in!"

"Yeah I need a costume for this Halloween party next weekend. Are you going?" She directed this comment at both of us.

"I am not sure if they feel comfortable inviting us Bella." Alice answered peering over Bella's shoulder to the gossiping lunch table.

"Well, Mike and Ben are hosting it at Ben's. Their brothers are also bringing a few friends from their school, Ben told me to bring whoever I wanted. Their only condition is that everyone must wear a costume."

"You actually want to go to a party?" I interrupted. Alice attempted to kick me under the table but I moved right before she struck.

"Not usually, but Charlie has kind of insisted I get out of the house and I have no valid excuses not to go." She kept her eyes on the table as she answered me.

"Well I think it sounds like fun! You are going to look great!"

"Are you coming with us Edward?" Bella looked up at me shyly

My heart soared when she said my name. I wonder if she caught it. She must have because I saw the corner of her mouth pull up before she looked back at the table.

"I think I have a catalog in the car! I will be right back" Alice jumped up and was out as fast as _humanly_ possible.

_EDWARD this is your chance don't blow it! _She thought at me as she left.

"Well this is awkward . . ." Bella said trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, just a little . . . How are you?" Like I couldn't tell, I must sound so stupid!

"I miss you . . . and . . . I think you miss me too."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well you wouldn't have been spying on me if you didn't, right?"

"I'm sorry about that. I never should have snapped at you like that on Friday. I just have never liked Mike that much and I was caught off guard." This was becoming too familiar, I need to end this conversation or I will end up scooping her up into my arms . . . No. "Well I am going to go, have fun at your party."

"So we can't even be friendly anymore?"

"No Bella we can't, that was kind of the point, if you don't remember."

I left before I could see the hurt and pain my words inflicted. Alice was growling at me when I passed her in the parking lot. I tossed her the keys and ran into the forest.

BPOV

This week is passing so quickly. I think people are trying to distract me. Charlie and Billy asked me if I would help Jacob out after school with homework. So he comes over after school every day and keeps me company until Charlie gets home. Then we eat and I go to sleep. Then on the weekends I head over to see Tristan who is so energetic I don't have time to think about anything but the present.

I must admit it is helping though. Jacob and I have become really close through it all. We are supposed to be doing homework, but somehow History becomes cars or you tube. It is nice to have someone to be normal with. Everyone at school is used to seeing me as part of a couple and now that I am not; I feel like they are always treating me like I will break down any second. Maybe that is how it looks.

Thank God it's Friday. I am ready to do something other than homework. Jacob came over as usual and we talked Halloween plans.

"Quill, Embry and I are going over to Sam and Emily's place. They have the biggest TV and we are going to pig out and watch scary movies. Quill invited this senior girl, but I doubt she will come. Embry and I have some pranks planned. I think it will be a fun outing."

"That sounds fun actually. It sounds much more grown up than my plans." Jake always liked it when I made him seem older than he was. "I am dressing up this year and going to a party."

"Oooh, sounds like fun. Bobbing for apples and all that stuff?"

"Ha, yeah, probably not. At least I know I will not be doing that"

"Who is going?"

"Mainly seniors from school and some of their older siblings friends from the college."

"Did you invite Tristan?"

"No, but I am sure he is going. He plays in a band with Ben's brother sometimes."

"So is he your _boyfriend_ now?" Jake made kissy faces and fluttered his eyelashes

"No, we're just friends, like me and you Jake." I kept my tone light. This reaction surprised me. Usually I would be in pain and thinking about Edward. I know in my heart I still love him. _Am I moving on?_ "Does it seem like he is my boyfriend?"

"Well, yeah c'mon Bells you spend your weekends at his apartment. Plus you guys are really affectionate."

"I spend every day with you." I reminded him. "He and I are just affectionate people."

"Well, let's see what your school friends think when they see you and your _friend_ at the party." Jake was teasing, but I felt worry bubble up in my stomach. What if by some miracle Edward shows up to the party? If he thought I had a new boyfriend maybe he would leave for good. He barely shows up to school lately and if he does he doesn't so much as glance at me. The pain in my heart returned.

"Bella are you ok?"

"Yeah I just feel a little queasy, I'm going to get some water. Do you want anything to drink?"

"Nah I am fine"

(**A/N: Feedback needed. Plus any ideas for the next chapter?)**


	4. Unraveling

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

**(For access to more locations I have moved cities in WA closer than they actually are. For example, Port Angeles is 30 mins away from Forks and Seattle is like an hour and a half)**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

I was so excited to see Alice. I haven't spent any one on one time with her in so long. She came over and we drove to a thrift store in Port Angeles. She of course wanted to go to some boutique in Seattle or Olympia, but I wasn't going to spend a fortune on a costume.

"Have you finally picked a costume? You keep changing your mind! It is maddening Bella." Alice really does hate being blind.

"Well I was watching a movie last night and I think . . ."

"Oh Yes, you would be a perfect Juliet." Alice interrupted "I assume we are going with the white dress and white wings from the beginning of the movie."

"Why ask if you already know?" I rolled my eyes and smiled as I grabbed her into a big hug. "Thanks Alice. You know I am no good at the shopping thing."

"You're very welcome Bella"

We found a dress that was almost identical just a little shorter. I had found some wings that looked exactly like the ones in the movie. It was perfect.

**(A/N: Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet BTW)**

When I was finished paying I saw Alice had her costume in a bag as well. I asked who she was going as and she just giggled "You'll see". Knowing Alice it would be something over the top and memorable.

"So is Edward back yet?"

"Not yet, I haven't heard from him in a week" Alice's voice was steady and nonchalant

"Well he said you guys tend to get distracted . . ."

"Let's get you home and changed Bella. I want to get started on your hair before the party"

"Nice subject change" I said bluntly

"I'm a natural" She smiled and stuck out her tongue.

I tried to sit still as Alice brushed and tied my hair into place. As I got dressed she changed into her costume and grabbed her camera from her house. When I walked downstairs I was assaulted by flashes from her little camera.

"Holy crow Alice, are you trying to blind me?"

"Bella don't whine. I want to make sure my work is documented before you trip and wreck it."

"Well a quick FYI I haven't tripped in days, gravity and I are becoming fast friends. Please, don't jinx me."

As I adjusted my eyes I took in Alice's costume. She was wearing knee high black boots and fishnets with a black leather mini skirt and red velvet top.

"Wow! You look great! What are you Alice?"

She flashed me a huge smile and I saw the fake fang caps on her perfect teeth.

"Isn't this what you think vampires look like? I could go put on something a little more "interview with . . ." if you think that will be better . . . "

"No! Alice you look exactly like a teenage girl dressed like a vampire for Halloween _should_ look"

"Great . . . oh it's 9 already we should get going"

Alice and I picked up Angela on the way to Ben's. Angela was dressed as a witch, very cute.

When we pulled up to the party, it was already in full swing. There were so many people I did not recognize. We followed Angela through the crowd towards our usual lunch crowd. Right before we reached them though a flash of silver jumped in front of me. Tristan.

"My lady." He kissed my hand. He was wearing black jeans and a perfect match to Romeo's costume from the movie. A top the looked like the under armor of a knight. A knight, it could not have been more perfect if we planned it.

"My lord"

"I guess you were watching Romeo and Juliet last night too?" He winked up at me and I blushed.

"Great minds think alike I guess."

"You look great Iz!" He pulled me in and gave me a big hug. I felt eyes on us and I turned to introduce him to my friends. They all did the shaking hands thing and we began discussing our costumes. Alice was oddly quite the whole time. After a while I excused myself and took Alice around so we could see more costumes. It was no time before Alice spilled her thoughts.

"Bella who was that?"

"He's an old friend from Phoenix. He just transferred to Seattle, why?"

"When we are near him I can't see anything . . ." She whispered

"What do you mean Alice?"

"I have not been checking up on you, I swear, but lately all your decisions and future, have been foggy when I get them. Like with the costume. I thought it might have been the time away from one another. Then today was clear as usual which calmed me a bit, until we got near him."

"Has this ever happened before?"

"No, I can see everyone!" Alice looked truly upset.

"I don't know what to tell you Alice. He is every bit as human as I am. I've known him for years and I think I would have noticed if he was, you know, different"

"oh, I forgot to call jasper,I am going to make a quick call home. Go enjoy the party Bella." She smiled at me and walked off towards the car.

I walked around the party and ended up where a small stage was set up and saw Angela and Ben helping his brother set up.

"Need any help guys?"

"Sure Bella, we are just hooking up the amps." Ben handed me a cord

After hooking up one cord my job was pretty much done since the band took over. Tristan grabbed his guitar and Angela and I stepped to the side while the men worked.

"You didn't tell me you know Tristan!"

"it never came up Ange. We grew up together."

"He is very cute, and is so sweet with you."

I just smiled thinking about what she said. Ben picked up his bass and blew Angela a kiss. She turned beet red. Then the band started. Tristan sang a few songs, he always was attracted to the spotlight. Angela and I sang along with the crowd and were having a lot of fun. After a while the party switched to a DJ and practically everyone was dancing. I took my chance to duck out and I went outside to a patio area. When I got there I saw Alice and Edward?!? He had thrown together a black suit with red shirt. He looked so handsome, my heart lifted when I saw him then I saw his expression and realized that he was not my Edward anymore.

"I didn't think you were coming." I said trying to hide my sadness.

"me either . . ." He glared at Alice.

If that was not tense enough Tristan came out. He put his arm around me. With his free hand he extended it to Edward.

"Hi, i'm Tristan"

Edward looked a little confused, but shook his hand. Tristan was calm cool and collected. He didn't even react to Edward's cool touch.

"It's nice to meet a friend of Bella's. I'm Edward, Alice's brother"

Tristan gave me a look that said _is this the guy?_ And I gave him a look that confirmed it. We were able to get a lot from each other in these little mental conversations. I got enough for him to understand to be nice. Even though the pause was very short Edward looked annoyed.

"Well if you two don't mind I am going to steal Izzy for a dance."

Tristan led me towards the dance floor and I went very willingly. I couldn't even look Alice in the eye.

EPOV

"Edward I left a costume for you on your couch. I need you to come here as quick as you can. There is something weird about one of Bella's friends. I need to know if she is in danger."

_She knew those words were the only thing that would get me to that party. She better not be making this up. _

"I'll be there in a while, I am hunting pretty far away."

I ran to the house and saw she laid out a vampire costume on the bed. I decided on a suit and slicked back hair instead. It was formal enough to look like a costume. I shook my head the costume she has laid out in disapproval and wondered how far she was going to push our cover. I ran to just outside the house where the party was. I saw Alice watching Bella from the back of the room.

_He is dressed like a knight playing the guitar._

I looked over to the stage and filtered through all the voices and thoughts. His thoughts were not very impressive mainly notes and lyrics.

_Whenever he and Bella are together I cannot see her future._ _Oh and don't you even think about yelling at me for checking on her. You know it just happens sometimes._

I ignored this and tried to hear for something, anything else.

"He is just thinking about the song he is playing, nothing sinister her Alice."

"Okay well just wait till he is done then." She sounded desperate.

"Fine, let's wait outside."

We walked outside and I watched Bella through the window. She was singing along and she actually sounded pretty good. She always claimed she could not sing. She was even dancing a little. After a couple songs the music changed to a DJ and I saw Bella start towards where we were. She was so pretty in her costume. She came outside and her eyes opened so wide when she saw me.

"I didn't think you were coming."She said quietly

"me either . . ." I glared at Alice. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Then I heard him:

_Where did she go? She loves this song. There she is, with that strange girl again. I wonder what is making her look at me like that? Who is this guy?_

Then he put his arm around Bella and his mind fell as silent as hers. What was going on?

"Hi, i'm Tristan" he reached over with his free hand to shake mine. I struggled to hear, but kept my composure. I shook his hand and introduced myself. He didn't flinch when he touched my cold skin.

"It's nice to meet a friend of Bella's. I'm Edward, Alice's brother" _and that's my girl you have your arm around._

He looked over at Bella and it was like a whole conversation took place in a matter of a second. That just pissed me off. I can't hear her thoughts or his but he was reading hers like they were written on her iris'. He smiled at me then, "Well if you two don't mind I am going to steal Izzy for a dance."

_Izzy? Who is this guy Edward? What are you hearing?_

I waited for them to get out of earshot and answered,"nothing Alice, absolutely nothing!"

"What?"

"I heard him approach, then, as soon as he touched her, his mind disappeared." I tried to think what all this meant and Alice still looked very confused and frustrated so I tried to ease her." He smells like a human. How much trouble could he really be?"

"Did you notice that he and Bella have a similar scent?"

I watched as he led her into the house and they began to dance. She usually avoided the dance floor like the plague, but she seemed comfortable and very confident. That is what was different about her when she was near him! She was confident, I thought about her photos and the times I have seen her with him.

"Alice, have you noticed anything different about Bella?"

"You mean like the fact that she is wearing heels and hasn't fallen? She told me she hasn't been as clumsy lately."

"You think she is absorbing it from him? It is the only thing that makes sense at this point. He appears to be absorbing her ability to block thoughts."

"Well that is possible, but then what about my visions? I can't see her when she is with him."

"Have you tried seeing him by himself?"

"Well they would have to separate for me to do that."Alice said, looking disapprovingly towards the dance floor.

I looked over to where he and Bella danced and he had his hand on her waist and was pulling her closer. I couldn't stand to see her that close to anyone else. "I can arrange that . . ."I growled through my teeth.

"Edward, you need to calm down. I can get Bella away from him. Just relax and monitor his thoughts when you are able to." Alice pushed me back to a bench. "Stay!" She wagged her finger at me.

I continued to torture myself as they danced to "kissing you" .She had her head on his chest and he looked down at her. I have seen this move a million times and I could see where this was going. He was going to kiss my angel; my Bella. His fingers found her chin and as their eyes met . . .

**(A/N: Totally could not resist ending the chapter there, sorry)**


	5. Blood Oath

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

I continued to torture myself as they danced to "kissing you" .She had her head on his chest and he looked down at her. I have seen this move a million times and I could see where this was going. He was going to kiss my angel; my Bella. His fingers found her chin and as their eyes met . . .

**_________________________________________________________________________________**

EPOV

Alice tapped Bella on the shoulder. Thank God!! I should buy that girl a car or something.

"Bella I need to speak to you." Alice tried to sound apologetic. _You are welcome Edward_

"Um, ok, sure Alice." Bella looked quickly away from his gaze. "I will be right back, ok?"

"It's okay, take your time. I will be here."

Once Bella was away I was able to hear him again.

_Alice must really not like me, no one's timing is __that__ bad. Where is Edward? I should talk to him while I am alone. I hope he doesn't try to start something. That will just make the situation worse for both of us._

_If he wants to talk to me I should be polite and talk to him_ I thought. It would not have taken much to convince me to vacate the spot I occupied on the bench and as he walked out onto the patio and I was by his side, maybe a little too quickly.

"Shit! Dude, make a noise or something. You can't just sneak up on people like that!"

"I'm sorry I thought you heard me walk up."

"I doubt you and I will see each other again, so I need to take advantage of the situation. "

I searched his thoughts and was surprised: _Okay, how do I say this without him getting too angry? Well I guess I should just be direct. Here it goes . . ._

"Are you really over Bella? If not I need to know because I will not compete with you." He had a cocky grin on his face. To the people around us we probably looked like we were discussing sports or some other unimportant topic.

"What?" I was genuinely surprised. Compete? Was he asking me if he could date her?

"She talks about you in her sleep. She loved . . . maybe still loves you. I would rather see her happy and if you are just stringing her along I need to know." He was thinking about keeping me calm and all the worry he had for Bella, even though I knew all this I couldn't control the jealousy I felt towards him. He's near her when she sleeps?

"Edward?" He said in a tone that was testing my anger. He wasn't afraid though. Most normal humans would have sensed how dangerous I am by now.

"Why are you discussing this with me? Why not just move in like you were about to a moment ago?" I hissed and stepped into the space between us.

"Bella is my friend before anything else. I see that she would be happy if I took the next step, but I will not risk our friendship, just to be challenged by some guy who doesn't know her worth." He stepped closer to me answering my challenge. Still no fear.

"You think I don't know her worth?!?" I was about to lose it, this guy wasn't even important enough for Bella to so much as mention him in the time we were together, but he knows her worth?

_Mike Newton: Cullen is finally going to get what he deserves. Tristan is going to kick his ass. _

_Ben: Where is Bella she could break this up. . ._

The party guests started whispering and taking bets as to who the victor would be, when Alice and Bella appeared.

_Edward, don't you dare. You could seriously hurt him. Then you will lose her forever. _

Alice was yelling her thoughts at me. Bella put her hand on my shoulder and pushed Tristan behind her. I looked into Bella's scared eyes and stepped back. She was looking at me as if I were a monster. "We should go Alice." I said staring Tristan down.

"Y-Yes, Bella are you coming?" Alice asked cautiously. Bella looked up at Tristan

"No, I'll take her home" Tristan interrupted, never taking his eyes off mine, as he stepped forward and put his arm around her shoulders. He flashed another cocky grin.

"Thanks Alice, but I think I will stick around. I will see you at school ok?"

She nodded and we walked out of the party.

When we got to the car it took all my energy to get in. I wanted to run back to her and tell her how I love her too much to stay with her and that I was only doing this for her own good.

I wanted her to move on, but I just didn't think it would be so soon. My actions tonight probably made up her mind for her. She was witness to the danger I warned her about. With James it was different because he was vampire and trying to kill her. This guy is human and he loves her. I know I love her more . . .

"Edward, that was really stupid. You could have hurt him and exposed us! I know you are upset, but you are putting yourself through this. We all consider her part of this family, why can't you accept that?"

"I don't know anymore Alice. I am asking myself the same question. I think that I may have lost her."

"I don't think so Edward. I still see her changing into one of us. There is still time."

I ignored her.

BPOV

Tristan and I walked over to the dance floor. I quickly forgot about the awkward moment outside with Edward as Tristan spun me and made me laugh. Then the music slowed and he pulled me in closer. Kissing you began to play and I listened to the lyrics.

_Pride can stand a thousand trials / The strong will never fall / But watching stars without you / My soul cries_ . . .

This song reminded me of my still broken heart and I didn't want Tristan to see the sadness on my face. So I laid my head on his chest while we slowly danced and I could hear his heart beat. Steady as always. He was so warm and this was different. I began to imagine letting go of the pain in my heart and allowing the warmth of Tristan's affection heal me. I felt him look down at me and I knew he could feel the emotions running through me. The lyrics fell away from around us and I felt him lift my chin. I stared into his eyes and they were filled with an emotion only one other person had ever possessed for me.

Just then a flash of cold broke through our moment and Alice whispered in my ear," Bella I need to speak to you." I was completely embarrassed and I couldn't bear to keep my gaze with Tristan with Alice standing there. "Um, ok, sure Alice." I told Tristan. "I will be right back, ok?"

"It's okay, take your time. I will be here." He squeezed my hand before releasing me. I knew he meant I will _always_ be here.

----- Flashback -----

_The night before Tristan left for college, cooking in Renee's kitchen._

"Ow! Damn It!" I growled as I put pressure on the cut. I cut my palm open while attempting to catch a knife. "I am too damn clumsy"

"Calm down, calm down, let me look you over" Tristan took my hand and put pressure with a washcloth. "Better?"

"Uh, huh yeah now at least I can't see it. What will I do when you are gone? I am going to be a walking disaster"

"No hon, you will be a tripping Disaster!"

"Ha-ha you are hilarious" I gave him a weak smile, but I felt my eyes tearing up. "I am going to miss you so much."

"I will always be here for you" His tone turned serious and I knew he meant it.

"Promise?" I looked into his deep emerald eyes and looked for the Tristan that only I knew.

"I promise" Then he picked up the knife and cut his palm like mine. He held our bleeding hands together sealing our blood oath and he whispered "always"

----- End of flashback -----

I looked down at my hand at the scar that barely showed anymore as Alice started talking about nonsense. "Alice, really, what is going on?"

After a pause and what I could only interpret as internal concession she turned to me and blurted," Bella, Edward can't hear him either . . ." She sighed.

"Like me?" I was shocked

"Actually, the only time he can't hear him is when he is with you . . ."

"So you are distracting me to let my EX mentally probe with my-- friend?" I was instantly worried about Tristan. This was not fair to him, plus who knows if he is thinking something that will upset Edward. He always had a talent for pissing people off.

"No, Bella we just have never come across anything like the two of you before!" Alice pleaded

"Alice, we may be anomalies to you, but we are no threat. Why are you freaking out?" My tone was annoyed, but this was Alice, she would never hurt me. I took a deep breath. "Sorry for snapping. Let's just go back to the party I need to keep them apart."

When we started back I saw a circle forming in the patio. I knew instantly who would be at the center. Alice pushed our way through the crowd. As we reached them I put my hand on Edward's shoulder and pushed into the nonexistent space between the two. What has come over Edward? He stepped back after a quick glance at me. I wanted to put my arms around him and calm him, but for once I was scared. I have never been as afraid of Edward as I was in that instant. "We should go Alice." He said with his eyes still locked on Tristan.

"Y-Yes, Bella are you coming?" Alice asked cautiously. I looked to Tristan and knew I couldn't leave him alone tonight. Remembering what Alice said I adjusted myself and Tristan automatically put his arm around me. "No, I'll take her home" Tristan answered for me, "Thanks Alice, but I think I will stick around. I will see you at school ok?" I tried to smile at her, but the smile never reached my eyes.

She nodded and they walked away. Once the crowds parted I slapped Tristan's shoulder.

"What?" He laughed

"That was not funny in the least!" I scolded him, but it didn't seem to faze him. He just jumped into party mode and dragged me back into the house.

Everyone was staring at us, but I just didn't care at that moment. We talked with friends for another hour and I was surprised that people were being so tactful. No one mentioned the scene on the patio. Well to me they didn't. I saw Tristan getting a few pats on the back and having whispered conversations. To my relief he kept these interactions brief.

Tristan drove me home soon after and walked me to my door. On the door was an envelope from Charlie:

**Bella, **

**I will be back tomorrow night. There have been some missing hikers in the neighboring areas and extra police have been called in to investigate. Call the station if you need anything, they have the info of where I am staying. **

**-Dad**

**P.S. There are some messages by the phone for you.**

"Well, I guess I am on my own. You want to come in? I'll make us something to eat."

"Sure, I am starving."

I made us a couple of sandwiches and checked the messages written in Charlie's messy script.

**Jacob called**.

**Coming over in the morning**.

We went to my room to listen to music. I put on some Lenny Kravitz and Tristan updated me on how the meeting went with the record company in Seattle. He was so excited because there was a chance that he would be filling in for a guitarist on tour next summer. He was excited, but I knew the real reason we needed to talk was coming up.

"So, what did you say to make Edward that angry?" I decided to blurt once there was a pause in the conversation.

"You assume I was the one to start it?" His eyes opened a little too wide. The tell that I knew meant he was busted.

"No, I know you were the one who started it."

"I just walked out to the patio and he was there so I asked him a harmless question and he got in my face." He tried to shrug it off but I looked at him with a skeptical stare. So he continued, "Okay, maybe, it was a personal question, but he never gave me an answer so it renders our little _chat_ moot."

I stared at him for a long while. "You look like you are about to fall asleep. You are not driving home tonight." I reached into his jeans pocket and fished out his keys. He wiggled around trying to stop me and with a high voice yelled, "Miss Swan! Please keep your hands off me, no means no."

"Ha you wish you were that lucky buddy. C'mon let's get you downstairs in case Charlie gets home early. He is a cop you know and he may shoot you if he sees you in my room."

"Renee never had a problem with it. Plus I think Charlie adores me." He sprawled out practically covering my now tiny bed.

"Yeah well Renee is very different from Charlie, and Charlie doesn't adore anything with a Y chromosome where I am concerned." I pointed to the door and eventually he relented.

I made up the couch for him and we watched a little TV. Once he was asleep, I made my way upstairs in a zombie like speed, I was dead tired. The sun was about to come up and it was freezing in my room. I went to shut the window. I didn't even remember it being left open. I snuggled down into my covers and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I was woken up by pebbles being thrown at the window. I stood up and saw Jacob. "Bella come and open the door I am freezing out here!" I groaned, it had only been about 4 hours since I went to sleep. "Sure sure". I put on a robe and headed for the front door. Tristan was still dead to the world on the couch. When I opened the front door I looked around for Jacob and there he was standing in front of a finished Rabbit.


	6. Out in the open

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

Chapter 6

The next morning I was woken up by pebbles being thrown at the window. I stood up and saw Jacob. "Bella come and open the door I am freezing out here!" I groaned, it had only been about 4 hours since I went to sleep. "Sure sure". I put on a robe and headed for the front door. Tristan was still dead to the world on the couch. When I opened the front door I looked around for Jacob and there he was standing in front of a finished Rabbit.

"Jake! Wow you finished!"

"Yeah isn't it awesome? Come and see!"

I hurried to the car and he gave me the grand tour.

"You know we have to go out and celebrate right?"

"Yeah but, only if I can drive!"

"Of course I need to see how this baby runs. Come on in I will make us some breakfast."

"Charlie working today?"

"Yeah official police stuff he said he will be home tonight though.'

Jacob looked at the couch and laughed. "So how was the party?"

"Eventful" I laughed pointing at Tristan. "How was your Halloween night?"

As I cooked he told me about all the scary movies they watched and how he scared people during the suspense filled moments. We laughed and he said he had some time since Sam, Paul and Embry had some errand to run in the middle of the marathon and that's when he was able to finish the car.

"So what should we do to celebrate?"

"Want to drive up to Port Angeles for a movie? We could even bring the party animal if you want." He nodded as a drowsy Tristan sat up.

"Movie?" He said with a mixture of happiness and grogginess.

"Okay I am going to get a shower in and get dressed." I yawned and pointed towards the food so Tristan could go and eat. I heard Jake immediately turned the conversation downstairs to his car. Although the talk was more technical than the one I got.

I took my time in the warm shower and actually blow dried my hair straight instead of letting it air dry. I picked out an outfit and joined the boys downstairs feeling awake and refreshed.

"There is the Bella we know and love." Tristan greeted me with a big hug and pointed up the stairs.

"Yeah sure go ahead there are towels in the cabinet and my toothbrush is the green one."

"Thanks!" he grabbed his bag and ran up the stairs.

Jake and I watched some TV while we waited for Tristan to finish up. When he was done he came downstairs and Jake jumped up with his keys in his hands."Ready to go?!"

We all walked outside to Jacob's car. "Shotgun!" Tristan and I yelled in unison. We looked at Jacob for a ruling. "Sorry Bells, I think he has you beat."

"Only because he is louder" I said sullenly under my breath. Tristan beamed at me and I stuck my tongue out at him as I climbed into the back seat.

The whole way loud music blared from the little car and we got there in record time. When we got to our seats the previews had already started. The two guys were laughing at the excessive violence and I was just cringing at almost every scene. During this time of the year all the movies get extra bloody. Towards the middle of the movie Jake's laughing became complete silence. I turned to look at his face and he looked sick. I whispered over to him, "Too much blood?"

He shook his head.

"Do you want to get some air?"

"Actually do you guys mind if we go?" he said sounding awful

I looked at Tristan and he nodded "Yeah, this movie is horrible anyways" he turned to Jacob, "Want me to drive us back?" Jacob nodded and handed him the car keys.

"Bro, you are burning up." He said this to Jake but he motioned for me to feel. I placed my hand on Jacob's forehead and he was right.

Jake crawled into the back seat and laid down, "Don't crash my car!"

"Don't worry kid I will get her home safely."

We drove back to Forks in silence. When we got to my house I decided to drive Jacob home and Tristan agreed to follow us and take me back. I got into the driver's seat and Jake transferred to the passenger side. He rolled down the window and laid his head against the door. "Almost home Jake, hold on ok?"

He started to tremble. I didn't know what was going on. He was burning up and he looked awful. I sped the rest of the way and we arrived at the house. As I went to the other side to get Jacob he began to shake violently. I picked him up and I called to Sam who was waiting for us on Billy's porch. Sam's eyes widened and he yelled "Get away from him Bella!"

Why is he yelling? What am I supposed to do? Drop him on the ground?

Sam ran towards us full speed and pushed me out of the way. I hit the floor hard and I heard this awful animal like scream. I blinked several times and when I looked up there were two wolves standing three feet from me. Where did Sam and Jacob go?! Then I saw the truth, the smaller wolf looked at me and I saw a look too familiar to miss.

It was Jacob. Maybe a year ago I would not have jumped to the conclusion that I had this day, but if there were vampires why not werewolves?

Then Sam changed back into his human form as if to confirm my thoughts. Everything came back to my head in a rush.

"You can't tell anyone about this."

"Sam another human is coming to pick me up right now. If you don't want him to know as well you need to get him out of here. [I paused] Sam you can trust me, I will not say anything."

"Yes, I know we can trust you. Don't worry Bella, Jacob will be fine" He morphed back and the two wolves ran into the forest.

I caught my breath and dusted off my jeans as Tristan pulled up. "So is he going to be okay?"

I calmed myself and answered as calmly as possible, "Yeah, his friends are taking him to the hospital."

I looked to Jacob's house and saw Billy staring at me. I waved to him and got into the car. I was really quiet on the ride back to my house. My good friend just turned into a wolf before my eyes and I can't tell anybody about it. What was I really going to talk about after that revelation? "You okay Iz? You're not getting sick too are you?" Tristan sounded worried.

"I am not sure but, I do feel a little dizzy. I should go inside and put my head down."

"Do you want me to stay until Charlie gets back?"

"No, don't worry about me. Just go back to school I will see you next weekend ok?"

"Alright, but call me if you need anything, even if it is just Sprite and saltines I will bring it to you; ok?"

I smiled at him," Thanks Tristan." Then I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went inside.

He waited for me to be safely inside and then drove away. I went straight to my room and lay down on my bed. It is freezing in here again. I went to close the window then I saw the pale face staring at me from the rocking chair.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed as I grabbed my heart so it wouldn't jump out of my chest.

"Not quite Bella . . ." he said

"What the hell are you doing in my room?"

"I'm sorry, I just needed to talk to you and I wasn't sure when you would be home. So I waited." He looked into my eyes apologetically.

I sat back onto my bed facing him and said, "Its okay, you just startled me."

"So I take it _he_ finally went home?" His tone was thick with hate.

"Yeah, _Tristan_ went back to school."

"I came to see you last night, but I saw you had company and I didn't want to interrupt."

"Edward, I have had a very stressful day. How about you just cut the foreplay and tell me what it is that you want?"

"Okay, we will do it your way. I came here to warn you, Alice has seen a vision of Victoria very close to Forks. I usually would not worry you if I didn't have to, but with you spending everyday with _him_ we cannot see you."

"Victoria?!? Why is she coming? Wait, none of this makes sense. I only spend time with Tristan on the weekends, why can't you see me during the week?" Then I thought about whom I have been spending my weekdays with and I knew. What information could I actually share with him?

He stepped closer to me and asked, "Who are you with the rest of the time?" Then he sniffed me. . . and he scrunched his nose.

"I'm at school and Jacob Black comes over to do homework afterwards."

"Were you with Jacob today?"

"Yes."

His expression showed all the thoughts running through his mind. Then cautiously he asked, "Do you know what he is?"

I answered him quickly with a blank look, "What do you mean?" Does he know? How could he?

"Never mind."

"Can I ask just one more question?"

I nodded eager to change the subject.

"Are you happy?" His words took me by surprise

"Huh?" I said intelligently

"Does he make you happy?"

"Edward, you are being ridiculous. Why should I answer that? You have made it clear through your actions the past couple months that you don't care about me anymore. You don't get to ask me those questions anymore."

"Please, just be an adult and answer the question." He said exasperated.

"Don't take that tone with me if you want an answer" I snapped back.

"Please?" He changed his tone and looked into my eyes with so much pain in his that I gave in. I told him everything.

"I loved you. I let you into my heart and I let all my guards down and you saw me for exactly who I am. I know I am not good enough for you, but you loved me anyway. That fact made me love you more than I already did. Then you realized how wonderful you are and you left me. I was lucky enough to have a friend that reminded me about who I am and he has shown me that I can heal. I am happy that there are people who see me for who I am instead of who I can't be. So, in that respect, yes, he makes me happy."

The look he had in his eyes now was an exact mirror of what I must have looked like the day Sam found me in the woods. He was standing in the corner taking in my words.

After a moment I slowly got up and put my arms around him and he returned my embrace. It felt so nice to hold him in my arms again and I squeezed him tighter and then his lips were on mine. I welcomed him and I felt his hand grip my hair as he pulled me in closer. He picked me up and we fell onto the bed. Just then my sense kicked back in, "Edward, stop" I whispered. My thoughts were warring with my words. I wanted to continue, I wanted to be his again. I knew that if we continued my heart will tear open again and I refuse to go back to that.

I pulled away and he released me.

"I'm sorry" He said and then he disappeared.


	7. Bend the pieces till they fit

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

EPOV

My still heart felt like it was heavier than ever. She is talking about me as if I were a perfect being. She is so off base. I am a monster; she saw that for herself just last night. The truth is she is too good for me. She should be yelling and calling me names. Instead she tells me that I am wonderful.

I am speechless. I love her more than my own life and if I say nothing she will think I don't care about her. She will move on with someone who can love her the way I can't. It is what I want for her, but I am too selfish to allow her to move on. He was right, I am stringing her along. I hate him. I hate myself.

She looked into my eyes with complete understanding and embraced me. Her warm skin felt like coming home. We belong together. I pulled her closer and felt her heart beating so steady and familiar. I missed the sound so much more than I knew. I could smell her strawberry and freesia scent and realized in that moment that we needed one another. Without thinking I kissed her and it sent a shock through our bodies. She didn't push me away. She kissed me back. I lost my hand in her soft hair and deepened the kiss. I felt her heart racing and it was amazing that the blood lust I felt was transformed into desire for something more. I gently picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist, our lips never broke the kiss. We fell onto the bed and I kissed her neck and felt her blood rushing under her skin. It sang to me, but I ignored its call. I was too consumed with the longing that built up in my body. Bella whispered for me to stop, but I felt her arms still tightly wrapped around my back. I kissed her again and she held me in that kiss. Then she pulled away and I suddenly realized I had taken it too far. It was like a bucket of cold water hit me and I jumped up.

The confusion I had been feeling returned to me like a crashing wave. I couldn't even look her in the eyes. "I'm Sorry" I blurted and jumped out the window and was running once I hit the dirt. I ran all the way to our meadow. When I reached the center of the meadow I crumpled to my knees. I had no energy to run or break anything even though there was anger flowing through me. I lay on my back watching the gloaming sky. I watched until full dark enveloped me.

Over a hundred years on this earth and I still don't have the experience to guide me to a solution. In a way I actually do feel like a 17 year old boy dealing with his first love. Then I remembered the circumstances. I am protecting her from my world. We are not the same. I have predators like James and Victoria in mine. She is too fragile too temporary. I found my legs around that time and walked at almost human speed. I walked as if there was a trail ahead of me; suddenly I knew what was at the end of the trail. I heard her sweet voice floating out her window and I sat under the tree and listened to her.

I guess it's luck but it's the same  
Hard luck you've been trying to tame  
Maybe it's love but it's like you said  
"Love is like a role that we play"

But I believe in you so much  
I could die for the words that you say  
But I believe in you so much  
I could die from the words that you say

I jumped into the tree and looked at her through the window. She had her guitar in her hands and I became entranced by her voice. She was so beautiful, even the sadness that hung in her eyes made her beautiful.

But you're chasing the ghost of a good thing  
Haunting yourself as the real thing  
Is getting away from you again  
While you're chasing ghosts

Just bend the pieces till they fit  
Like they were made for it  
But they weren't meant for this  
No they weren't meant for this

She stopped suddenly and picked up her phone.

"What do you think?" She asked hesitantly

I struggled to hear the low voice that came from the receiver. It was Tristan. "You finished it! It is finally perfect."

She smiled with relief. "Thanks, we can work on it Saturday for your show next week."

"After this I think you can pretty much go to any college you want."

"Well that is the point of bearing my soul for radio play isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome huh? I have everything we sell going though the account. 50/50 partner and we are doing quite well."

_**That is what they do all weekend? He is helping her earn money for tuition. **_

"I can't believe it, I just have to survive the rest of this semester and then we are out of here."

"Yeah, you can relax and work on your tan while I do the Vans tour this summer then we're off to San Francisco or New York."

_**She's leaving after this semester? She hasn't told anybody. Even Charlie is clueless. He thinks she will go to school in Seattle. **_

"My tan? You know I could spend every show in the pit without any sun block and I will still glow in the dark. I hear that the people in San Francisco don't get much sun though so I will probably fit in there. Did you send out your transfer applications yet?"

"Yes Ma'am, we are set to go. Oh I forgot to ask! How is Jacob? Have you talked to him?"

"No, I should've called him, but I was distracted."

"Distracted?"

"Yeah, Edward came by."

"How did that go?"

_**There was no jealousy in his tone, only concern. **_

"Well, instead of trying to play it cool or some other socially acceptable way to deal with a break up I spilled my guts and then we kissed."

_**She sounds so detached. Is that for his benefit?**_

"Ouch, how did it end?"

"Well of course I over thought it and I pulled away. He looked like he thought it was a mistake too and he bolted"

_**A mistake? It was the only thing lately that felt, right. **_

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah . . . I think it was good to get some closure. Although I think a talk in a public place would have left less of a dent, you know?"

_**Closure?**_

"Izzy, it is good to feel the pain. If not you will end up sealing it inside and no one can survive that. It takes time."

_**This guy is getting annoying. He sees her better than I do. He sees her hiding her pain. He sounds sincere when he talks to her. Not like that cocky jerk I met last night.**_

"I know. I have seen it; I guess I am just getting impatient. I am tired of being broken and sad all the time."

"We will do something exciting this weekend, ok?"

"Thanks Tristan. I am going to spend some time with Charlie. I will talk to you tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan. Love you So."

She laughed at his parting words and answered with "Love you Mo'" _**Yet another part of their relationship that I do not understand.**_ She hung up and then ran downstairs.

I ran to my house and was greeted by Carlisle. "Alice told me you may need to talk."

I shook my head thinking of the medaling pixie. "I have spent so much time thinking and I still have nothing. What would you do in my situation Carlisle?"

"I don't know son. It is a tough decision to make. You know we think of Bella as a daughter. We would love to have her as a part of this family. I do understand that you want her to live her life, it is a precious thing and all of us were deprived of that experience. I think you should let her live her life the way she chooses."

"You didn't answer my question."

"It is not my decision to make. It is something that you and Bella need to discuss."

"I think I may have lost her already."

"You have only lost her if you give up son." He placed his hand on my shoulder and walked back into the house.

I followed him after another moment. When I reached the living room I saw Alice. She looked confused. I searched her mind and saw the vision she just had.

Vision

Snow lightly falling on the school parking lot, but it is different because something is missing.

The vision becomes unclear and disappears

Jasper is back and he brought Eleazar to see Bella?

She is so pale, she is, a vampire?

The scene becomes hazy and

ends.

Alice met my eyes and says, "It is getting closer Edward."

"I have not made my decision Alice. It is impossible"

"It is going to begin snowing any day now. How much longer do you think she has Edward?"

"Have you seen anymore about Victoria?"

"No, she seems to have changed her mind. I don't see her anywhere. Did you talk to Bella?"

"Alice, you know that I did."

_Her thoughts flashed from our disagreement to the kiss. Her thoughts had a hopeful feeling to them._

"I just thought maybe something had changed?"

"Yeah, Bella has decided to leave Forks in January. She is going to live in some big city for college with Tristan. "She made a face when I said his name. "I hate that I cannot see her when she is with him. It gives me a headache." I smiled at her and she continued, "I didn't know about her plans to leave. Why wouldn't she have told me?"

I thought about Alice's frustration and I remembered something from my conversation with Bella earlier. "Alice, have you ever seen werewolves?" She looked at me as if I were crazy."Remember the story we told you about the Quileute's?" She nodded."Well Bella spends her weekdays with one of them. She smelled like him today. She told me that Tristan is only around on the weekends. So I think it might be werewolves you cannot see.

"Okay, but Tristan is not a werewolf. He smells human."

"What if he is like Bella? They smell similar, still human just a little different because of their similarities. She is immune to my ability…"

"And he is immune to mine?!" she finished my thought.

"Twin souls perhaps?" A voice said from behind us. It was Jasper and Eleazar they must have been listening to our conversation.

"Twin souls?" Alice asked Eleazar.

"Yes, in Aristophanes it was thought that humans were joined in the beginning back to back, you know four Arms, four legs, two faces. They were powerful beings. Zeus feared their power and decided to split them up. The idea of a soul mate or twin flame came from this same idea, but it is not always a romantic relationship. The best partnerships in history were people with twin souls. It was said that people who have twin souls are stronger when together. I came across only one set in my time with the Volturi."

"How can we determine if they have twin souls?" I asked him.

"Their powers are complimentary. Like Jane and Alec would be a good example. She can make people feel pain and he can do the opposite. The two of them are not twin souls, but they work similarly. The pair I knew was very close; you would think they were twin brothers. Their abilities were also complimentary, but they also were able to amplify each other. They were human when we found them. I saw the glimmer of their abilities and now that I think about it they smelled similar as well. We think it was because of a blood bond they shared during war. We decided to change them and their abilities became very strong. So strong that Aro feared them and he ordered that they be destroyed. He burned one alive and the pain and loss of the twin broke the other to the point that he surrendered and they burned him also. It sounds to me like Bella and Tristan are the same. She can block an attack of the mind like a shield and He can penetrate an attack like a sword. Alice's ability is like that attack, she can see what you are going to do and stop it. He has rendered her power useless in her presence leaving her vulnerable."

I took in all this information and it made sense. The closeness they shared and their ability to block us when they are together. It fits together. It also made them a target if anyone found out what we know.

_______________________________________________ _____________________________________

**(A/N: Do you like the direction this is going? Feedback always appreciated. Thanks!)**


	8. Direct

EPOV

Eleazar spent a few hours helping me research more information. He was very surprised that their powers worked so completely. He also kept thinking that this had to be kept a secret. He thought about Aro getting his hands on them. It would make their army unstoppable. He knew I could read his thoughts, but like everyone else it made him happier to pretend I could not. Before I knew it Alice came down the stairs announcing it was time for class. I changed my clothes and we drove to school.

"So, now that we have an idea of what we are dealing with can I see Bella again?" Alice asked me

"No, just leave her alone. I will watch her." I said

"That is not fair! Edward come on she is my friend."

"Alice, please just trust me. If what Eleazar has told us is true she cannot be turned. She would be too tempting to the Volturi."

"That is assuming they find out about her. I have been around for years and they have not met me. My ability is quite handy you know."

"It is only a matter of time before they meet someone who knows about you. The difference is that you will see them coming Bella won't."

BPOV

"Alright dad I should get to bed"

"Goodnight Bells"

I walked upstairs and put a CD on. I lay on my bed thinking about what I was going to do. Until today I was not sure what to do with Edward. Now I felt like it was actually the end of our relationship. I am not ready to let him go, but if I ask him to take me back and he says no. I will not recover from that.

Kissing you came on and I remembered the dance that Tristan and I shared. He and I have been friends for years but he never looked at me like he looked at me that night. We were about to kiss. I think it was the mood that night. I need Tristan to always be in my life and if we kissed or dated it could ruin everything.

On the other hand he and I have been friends so long that he knows me well. He and I are alike and if we gave it a shot we could be happy. I could have a normal happy life and be in love. I could pretend that the supernatural is all fiction. I could go to college become good at something. Grow up.

I drifted off to sleep. That night I didn't have nightmares. I dreamt about the beach. It was summer and there were barely and clouds in the deep blue sky. I was in my swim suit and the warmth surrounded my body as I lay on the edge of the cliff. Suddenly Tristan appears next to me and asks if I want to jump. I look down at the crashing waves and it is a beautiful blue sea. No rocks no danger just warm ocean. He pulls me into him and we share this passionate kiss. We are heat and light. Then he pulls away smiles at me and falls backwards off the cliff. He was so confident nothing would happen to him. He smiled up at me as I watched him fall.

I stand with my toes on the edge of the cliff and raise my arms in preparation for the dive and a hand grabs mine. I turn to see who it is and it is Edward. We are the same temperature and the sun sends shimmers all over his perfect body. He kisses my hand and steps further onto the cliff. I am now standing between Edward and the edge (Tristan). If I stay with Edward, Tristan will be all alone. If I jumped in after him, would Edward jump in after me? I step closer to the edge and Edward steps back. He always wants me to come to him. I decide to jump. With my back to the edge I open my arms and drift off. I see Edward peer off the edge then walk away as I fall. When I hit the water it is warm and I search for Tristan. He is here and I am in his arms as we tread water.

When I woke up Monday morning I realized what I needed to do. I needed to test Edward's feelings for me. Once I do that I can take the leap and move on. I would no longer be with the supernatural; I would be in the real world.

I am perfect as I am ever going to be. He has to love me for me. There was something behind that kiss we shared and I thought it was an end to our relationship, but what if it wasn't. I am going to be straight forward and demand an answer. If he can't give it to me then I will truly move on. Then I just have to find a way to keep Tristan on that cliff with me.

I got dressed and was actually excited. I ran through different scenarios in my head. I have my immediate future in place and all I need to do is figure out my love life. I should sit Tristan down and talk to him though. I can talk to him about anything.

When I got to school I saw Edward and Alice standing next to the Volvo. I walked over and Alice bolted. I stood in front of Edward and said, "Do you think you and I could talk at lunch today? We could go off campus maybe?"

"Bella, I really don't think that is the best idea."

"Edward it is important. I need you to give me this time."

My statement was a little manipulative, but I knew the wording would work.

"Fine, I will meet you here at lunch then. I do have some things I would like to discuss with you."

"Great, it's a date."I said brightly and winked at him as I walked away as calmly and quickly as possible. I was flirting, and I was doing it well.

I was able to block my excitement and I devoted all my attention to my classes. I had a High school diploma equivalency exam to prepare for and I needed to stay sharp. Finally lunch was here. I walked to the parking lot and there he was. He looked so perfect. I shook the thought out of my head as I reached the car. He opened my door for me and we drove off. "So where do you want to go?" He asked. I pulled out my bottle of lemonade and I said,"I'm not hungry so we can just go somewhere to talk."

He pulled onto a side road and we walked along a trail that led into the woods.

"So, you said there were some things you wanted to discuss with me?" I said quickly

"You were the one to set this meeting up." He pointed out

I decided to just be direct and not play games.

"Okay, why did you lie to me?"

"What did I lie about?" Edward said coolly

"Your feelings about me, you told me that you don't want me anymore, but I think you lied." I was silent waiting to hear him respond to me. He didn't look like he would so I continued," I told you what our breakup did to me. I think you know exactly what I felt and I want to know why you continue to be in my life if you truly don't want me."

"I want to keep you safe, Bella"

"No, I think you want to keep me single."

"Bella, you are being unreasonable."

"No I am not. You have only stepped into my life to keep another guy out of it. Tristan and I are friends. That is it."

"Bella, I am not blind. I see what you two have."

"Then why did you kiss me?" I said without skipping a beat

"Because I love you more!" He yelled exasperated and hurt.

I sat down and took in his outburst. I knew it. What do I do?

"You . . . love me?" I said with much less confidence.

"I never stopped."He said quickly and truthfully

As my human brain took all this in he said," Bella, it is okay. I know about your plans and I will not stand in your way."

"My plans?"

"I heard you on the phone last night. I think you will enjoy college. You and Tristan will be happy."

"You are right, we will be happy. We are always happier when we are together. It doesn't mean that we have to be a couple to be happy though. We made a pact to always be there for each other and we will."

"A blood pact?"

"Yeah, is that significant?'

"We think that is why your abilities are so strong even though you are both human."

"You think the fact that you can't hear me is my ability?"

"Yes, we think that you and Tristan are twin souls, this means that your ability is stronger than a normal human's because of the relationship you share with one another. The blood pact you shared strengthened the bond and made your abilities stronger as a result. The two of you will always be stronger together. The pact you made will keep you together for the rest of your lives."

"So you think that because he is in my life that you cannot be?"

"Yes, and now I know what you could have. I think you should find out what your heart wants Bella. You know what mine wants."

"If you want me then why can't we be together?"

"Because we are not the same Bella, we never will be. If that will be enough for you I am here with open arms. If not you need to find a way to be happy with someone else."

He said this as if he believed it was the most practical thing we could do, but he hid his eyes from me. I knew the emotions I would find in them and was glad he did.

"We should head back to school. We don't want to be late." I said unwilling to say anything more about this topic.

We walked back to the car and arrived before 5th period. I saw Alice waiting in the parking lot and I waved to her. She waved back and walked toward us.

"Bella, what do you have planned for the afternoon?"

"I am just going home to study, why Alice?"

"I think you may have an unexpected visitor."

"Vague much?"

"Well your future blinked out of existence so I assume it is one of your friends."

"Thanks for the heads up?"

"Edward you should go and study at Bella's today. Just in case."

"Alice, I thought we talked about this." He said sounding aggravated

"Edward, trust me." Alice said through her teeth

She must have thought about something important because Edward turned to me, "Bella, may I come over this afternoon?"

I looked at both of them and I could sense he would be at my house this afternoon with or without my permission. So I gave in.

"Okay, but I think you should leave before Charlie gets home. He is not your biggest fan at the moment."

I didn't wait for a response and I walked away from them and headed into class. I looked back and saw Alice excitedly talking. I need to get out of Forks. The mixed messages I am getting are beginning to get annoying.

After school I drove home and saw a rabbit parked out front. I walked up to the window and saw a sleeping Jacob. I lightly knocked on the window and woke him up;"Morning sunshine"

Jacob yawned and got out of his car. "Jake did you grow again?"

"Yeah, isn't it weird? I am freakin' huge!"

"So none of your clothes fit and that's why you aren't wearing a shirt in November?"

"Feel me Bella, I don't need a shirt."

I put my hand on his shoulder and he felt like he still had a fever." So do I get the introduction to your teen wolf-ism?"

"Yeah, you are one of the few people outside of the pack I can talk to about any of this." He yawned again.

"Why so tired?"

"I have been running patrol all night."

"Patrol for what?"

"A leech made it past our border and has been picking off hikers."

"A vampire?" I asked

"Yeah, we are not sure what she is after, but I don't think she is sticking around this area for the hikers. Especially since the blood sucker has not attacked anyone in a few days." He said blood sucker like a person would spit out a racial slur.

"Are you sure it is a woman?" I asked trying to stay calm.

"Yeah I saw her last night. We chased her to the beach and she swam away. Those blood suckers are crazy fast in the water." He was holding his head in his hands while he rubbed his eyes.

I thought about what Edward had told me about Alice seeing Victoria, and wondered if the missing hikers were her way of getting our attention. Why is she back?

"What does she look like Jake?"

"She mainly looked like a red blur to me."

"Victoria" I whispered

"It has a name?" He snorted as if that surprised him.

"Yes, I can't believe she is back"

"Do you know why she is back?"

I looked down to my arm and traced the mark that James' teeth left. I held out my arm and said, "Revenge."

"What did you do to piss her off?" He looked worried, but confused at the same time.

"Her mate James tried to kill me. Remember when I fell out of that window in Phoenix last year?"

His eyes opened wide with understanding, "So you killed her mate?"

"No, Edward killed him."

"Well at least that leech can do something right."

"Thanks for the compliment mongrel." Edward's velvety voice growled from the doorway.

Jacob growled back and stepped in front of me."What are you doing here parasite?"

"I was invited" He said coldly

"Stop it you two!" I yelled from behind Jacob but, neither of them budged. I stepped between them and looked at Jacob. He was trembling again.

"Calm down mutt, you will hurt her." Edward said

"I would never hurt Bella! You hurt her by just being here!" Jacob snapped at him

I grabbed Edward's arms and made him look at me. "Please go wait in my room Edward. Jake will be easier to calm down with you out of sight." He backed away until he reached the stairs and disappeared into my room.

"Jake, what the hell is going on with you two?"

"Bella, we are enemies. He turned me into this monster!" He was still trembling and I kept my distance.

"How could he do this to you? I don't understand!" I pleaded with him to explain it to me.

He sat down on the couch and explained what happened 70 years ago when the Cullen's first arrived in Forks. He told me about Efram Black and Carlisle's treaty and how the wolves and vampires have been natural enemies ever since. He explained that their presence did this to Sam and the rest of the pack.

"Bella, what is he doing here?" Jacob demanded

"I don't really know. He has been spying on me lately and today he asked permission to come over so I said yes. We have been trying to talk about what happened between us and now after what you have told me I think he is trying to protect me from Victoria."

"So he knew about her and said nothing?"He was clearly angry.

"I don't think he has come across her yet. If you say she has been on your land and that the Cullen's are not allowed there then she would be invisible still."I said trying to calm him.

"So you think she is after Edward?"

"Yeah I think she is trying to seek vengeance for James." I told Jacob trying to process this new information.

"She is not after me, she is after you." Edward's voice said as he descended the stairs. "Alice had a vision of Laurent in our meadow. After class I went there to see him and he tried to say he was just in town to visit. He has been living in Denali. When I read his thoughts he showed me that Victoria had sent him to find you. She is planning on killing you to hurt me. A mate for a mate."

"But we aren't even together anymore." I almost yelled

"That will not stop her. Don't worry I have Emmett and Jasper coming to help me find her. Then when we do we will take care of her like I took care of Laurent."

"What?" I asked in a haze.

"I killed him. He was planning to kill you himself." Edward said completely devoid of any emotion.

I was in shock.


	9. Ditch Day

BPOV

7:15 am Thursday

Who would be awake enough to make a call at this time? I thought as I reached to silence the deafening ringing. I contemplated hanging up as soon as I picked up but I already wasted the energy to pick up the phone so I answered instead, "Hello?"

"Bella join us or we will come for you" a voice that sounded eerily like Darth Vader said.

"Who is this?" I asked really confused.

Then I heard giggles and Mike's voice came through clearly. "We are all getting together and heading to Seattle. Skipping school once in a while is healthy, think of it as a rite of passage Bella."

"I have ditched school before you know . . ." I said still sleepy.

The phone sounded like it was being pulled in all directions and Jessica's voice poured into my ears. "You better be outside of Newton's in half an hour or we are coming in to get you!" Then a maniacal laughing Darth Vader voice came through, before Angela spoke up, "Don't worry Bella we have plenty of sugar and music to drown the boys and their toys out."

"Ok fine, half an hour, at the store." I hung up the phone and looked at my backpack. School was important right now, but one day couldn't hurt. Could it? "Charlie is going to kill me!" I said out loud to no one. Then I ran to the bathroom got ready and threw an outfit together. When I was done I hastily wrote a note to Charlie.

**Hanging out with friends**

**We may go to dinner afterwards**

For all he knew I left this after school. I stuck the note to the hook where he hung his gear and hopped in my truck. It was snowing lightly and I was starting to rethink my choice of activity for the day. After all the drama the last few days I was excited to just be normal for a day. I pulled up to Newton's and saw Mike, Ben, Eric, Tyler, Angela, Jessica, and Lauren. Tyler had a voice changer in his hand and was finishing up another early morning phone call.

"Okay, I hope no one has plans. It is going to be a long day." Mike said as he helped Jessica into the suburban. Once we were all in the battle for the stereo began. Angela and Jessica turned around in their seat so we could all talk.

"The party last weekend was so much fun." Jessica gushed

"I thought the band was awesome" Eric joined in

"Yeah, Tristan can really play, huh Bella?" Jessica's tone was fishing for information.

"And sing!" Angela chimed in trying to take the attention off me, but Jessica's stare was not letting up.

"Yeah, he is really good. He is actually filling in for the guitarist of Crimson this summer at the warped tour." I said trying to change the subject.

"Crimson? They are awesome!" Eric exclaimed. He reached forward and pushed his iPod into Tyler's face. "Play this track!"

Tyler grabbed the iPod and put on the song. It was really good and had a very complex guitar solo which Eric demonstrated on his air guitar. "I saw them in Seattle last summer; they are really good in concert. The guitarist would do these crazy guitar throws." He banged his head on the roof as he tried to demonstrate.

"Would one of you please tie him to the seat?" Mike called from the front of the car. Tyler jumped into our row and started belting Eric against his will. I wiggled out from under the two and stole Tyler's seat. Lauren was not happy I was sitting anywhere near her. I am not sure why, but that girl still doesn't like me even though she knows I never intended on going to prom with Tyler. I tried to smile at her, but her gaze was too piercing for my attempt to work.

"So is he your new boyfriend Bella? We all saw that little scene at the party and Edward did not look too happy." Lauren smiled brightly.

What a bitch! She knew I didn't like to talk about Edward with anyone. Plus she knew no one was going to save me from that direct question. Angela gave her a hard stare. I decided not to let her get to me.

"No, we are just good friends. He and Edward just had a little too much to drink, it was a misunderstanding." I returned her same smile. "You should know how that goes I mean, you seemed a little . . .trashy towards the end of the party."

"I think you mean trashed Bella" Angela said smiling, knowing exactly what I meant.

"Same difference." I waved the words away and felt Lauren's anger burning a hole in my back.

"Know who else had too much to drink? That girl from Jared's dorm," Ben jumped in, "She ended up passed out in the bushes."

"Was she the one who Jared was hiding from the whole night?"Angela asked

"Yeah she was dressed as a bunny." Mike added

"No! She was dressed like a stripper. Just because you throw on ears doesn't excuse the fact that we can see through your shirt." Jessica said sounding a little jealous that Mike noticed.

"She did have a cute bra though" I added teasingly which made Jessica smile again.

We finally got to Seattle and decided to go and eat. We found a Denny's near campus and sat in one of those huge booths. "Is anyone else coming? " Mike asked Tyler between bites "No, but I got my chemistry partner to remove our names from the morning truancy call list. She works in the office second period." Angela looked really relieved. I was actually surprised to see her on this trip. She was such a good girl, ditching class seemed odd for her. Then I saw the way she looked at Ben and I understood. If Edward had asked me to ditch class I would have too. Not that it takes much to tempt me out of class apparently.

"So besides getting the hell out of Forks, what is the big plan for the day?" I asked

"I was thinking movies then we could go to Broadway and hang out with my brother and his friends." Ben said. "They have class until like 1 or 2 then nothing until tonight.

"What's going on tonight?"Jessica asked Ben

"They are putting on a show at a pub for some school club fundraising thing." Ben answered

"It is for the music program" I added. Tristan had told me about the show and he and some friends got some songs together to play.

"Sounds like we should stick around . . ." Jessica mused

"I need to get home at a decent hour." Angela said with a hint of panic in her voice.

"It will be over by 7 or 8 don't worry" I told her.

"C'mon Angela when our absences are heard through the tiny Forks grapevine you are grounded anyway, might as well have fun while you are out." Lauren said

"She has a point" Ben added.

Peer pressure is an ugly thing.

"Okay fine, can we fit some shopping in there somewhere?" Angela said sounding a little more excited now

"Yes of course! We should do a cute little make over with Bella." Jessica gushed

"Why me?" I asked with mock horror

"They got to me over the summer" Angela said

"And I don't need a make-over" Jessica said with total confidence.

"That or you will be stuck with the 4 of us" Mike pointed to the male part of the table and I thought back to the first days of school and that made up my mind quickly.

"Ok a new outfit but if you try and touch anything else I will leave."

"Deal" Jessica said brightly

Alice would love this I thought. The last few days at school she seemed so distant. Edward barely even acknowledged me. I did catch both of them staring though. As I ate and listened to the group talk I wondered if Jake was going to feel up to coming over today. After the confrontation with Edward on Monday he has been so preoccupied by his patrols that he sleeps during the day and our usual routine has been put on hold. I should give him a call later though just in case today is different. The girls started talking about shopping and the boys talked about some action flick and college girls. I kept on dazing. Then my cell rang. I looked at the caller id and it was Alice. I excused myself from the table and answered my phone.

"Bella, I am hurt."

"I knew that shopping would get your attention Alice." I laughed

"That is not funny Bella. That girl has only_ slightly_ more fashion sense than you."

"Alice, why have you been avoiding me?"

She paused for a while then said," Your recent companions make it very difficult on me Bella."

"What is wrong with them?" I said feeling defensive.

"Where are you? We should talk."

"You don't know where I am?"

"Seattle I know, but where in Seattle Bella?" I could hear her roll her eyes.

"Oh, well we are eating outside of the campus but we are leaving to shop soon."

"Okay I will meet you in the store. I just have to ditch Edward."

"Ooo you are going to be in so much trouble Alice." I sounded like a 3rd grader

"Well you won't be in such a good mood this Saturday when you will be in Saturday school for ditching class. Tell Mike next time he wants to plan an outing he shouldn't invite the whole table it looks a little too obvious."

"Ugh ok well I will see you soon Alice."

I went back inside and let the rest of the table know our fate.

"Saturday school?" Eric groaned

"Yeah it is going to be like the breakfast club, but without all the fun high jinks." I said. "Alice decided to come and join us by the way."

"The more the merrier , plus it will be nice to see Alice before my parents lock me away." Angela said.

We watched a movie with the group then the girls left to shop. The boys stayed to watch some action movie.

We stepped into a very girly boutique and Alice was already there.

"Alice!" Angela called and she spun around to greet us. I was so glad to see Alice especially with Lauren in tow. Even though she was beginning to back down I hated to be near her.

"So, Bella tells me we are giving her a make-over?" Her smile was predatory and her prey was fashion.

"Yeah miss t-shirt and jeans needs to get in touch with her feminine side."Jessica said before she breezed past us to look at racks.

I sat in the middle of the changing area listening to music while the 4 girls looked for my new look. I figure that the less I struggled the less this would hurt. After a few minutes Alice brought me a dress and leggings and pushed me into a dressing room. It kept going like this for over an hour, dresses being shoved in the little room and me being Barbie Bella. Finally the girls made up their minds. I had on dark black leggings with some black heels. The dress I had on was also black and made out of a very soft chiffon material. It fell to my upper thigh and had a few ruffles on the top of the dress. Then we finished it off with a pale pink jacket with tiny silver buttons. Amazingly the whole outfit was on sale and I actually liked it. Jessica convinced Alice to re do my make-up and we called to meet up with the rest of the group. The other girls chose outfits and we definitely turned a few heads on the street. I called Tristan and heard Mike and Eric in the back ground.

"So I hear you are breaking rules without me today."

"Well I was going to call you eventually."

"Well we are at my place. Where are you?"

"We are like 5 minutes away."

"Alright I will leave the door unlocked. See you."

Jessica was so excited to see Tristan's apartment. Alice looked upset. I let the other girls in and I stayed behind to talk to her.

"Do you not want to be here?"

"Bella, you and Edward are meant to be. I see you becoming part of my family. It is too awkward to be here in his home, blind. I miss you, but I can't afford to be vulnerable with Victoria lurking."

"So are you going home?"

"Yes, plus I know Edward will have a few things to say to me. Please stay with the group and call me when you get back. I will see you at school tomorrow."

"Bye Alice."

I hate this! The two worlds I live in can never just co-exist. I took a deep breath and went inside. Once I got to the door I saw Tristan. He took in my new look and smiled.

"Wow, you look great." It was nice to hear a compliment from him without any humor or sarcasm.

"Thanks …" I said sounding a little shy.

He came over and gave me a big hug and looked me over again. The attention was too foreign I needed to say something to lighten the situation.

"Tristan you act like you have never seen me before. You are going to make me blush!" I teasingly pushed his shoulder.

"You are always gorgeous Izzy, but it is amazing how you still manage to steal a guy's breath. I actually don't want to bring you inside right now." He flashed me his trademark cocky grin.

"I would rather stay out here too. I hate when those guys pay attention to me. It is like the first day of school all over again."

"We could go for a walk if you want. My friends are just hanging out and I doubt they will miss us if we ducked out for a while."

"Sure." I said. He grabbed a jacket and we walked down into a near-by park. We sat next to each other on the swing set. "Remember sneaking out in the middle of the night and going to Cherry Park? We would stay out until like 2 am just swinging and playing like a couple of kids."

"Yeah of course, those were the best parts of Phoenix for me. We were really lucky to have each other. Can you imagine how boring phoenix would have been without someone to sneak out with?"

"I know how it would be. I lived it until you came, Forks is actually worse. This is the most fun I have had in so long. And I still have to drive almost 2 hours away to have it."

"Well it is November and after the holidays you and I will be living together and it can be like this every day!" He jumped off the swing and made a gymnastic dismount pose.

I slowed my swing and looked at him. He looked so happy. His smile made me think about the kiss we almost shared. Tristan's eyes looked like he just made a decision and he walked over and stopped the swing.

"Hey can we try something?" he looked nervous but determined

"Try what?" I asked confused

"Just go with it, this has been driving me crazy."

He pulled me up and pulled me closer. He put one hand on the small of my back and the other on my cheek. My hands were on his back returning his embrace. My stomach filled with butterflies and I caught my breath as he moved in for the kiss.

I closed my eyes and let the moment take me. His lips were soft and warm. Our lips seemed to fit together like perfect puzzle pieces and I could feel energy racing between us. My heart felt like it was beating in my throat. I felt his tongue lick my bottom lip and our kiss deepened. His hand moved to my hair, but his touch was so gentle. It was passion not necessity. When we pulled away we were both short of breath. It was the most amazing kiss of my life. I slowly opened my eyes and saw him looking at me. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

I smiled and he looked so relieved. I took a breath and he said, "I think that was the most amazing kiss I have ever had."

"Me too." I said shyly. "So what does it mean?"

"I don't know. I am looking at you and I still see my best friend."

"The kiss was amazing, but I don't see you any differently either."

"Okay so we are still just friends, but we are just attracted to each other? Bella you need to help me out here. I have never felt like this."

"Maybe there is such thing as I love you I am just not in love with you?"

"That seems so . . . lame"

"Okay well think about Jennifer or Jessica or any of the other girls you dated. Now think about me. Can you see it?"

"Well it would be different. I was never friends with those girls first. Plus all of those ended, badly."

"Not like my one relationship ended very well either."

"Okay let's do this. Let's go out on one date. We will not talk to each other for a week afterwards and then when we see each other we decide what to do."

"Okay, but when? I think I will be home for the weekend, Saturday school . . ."

"Yeah your friends told me. Well I will take you out around Forks."

"Okay so Saturday night?"

"Yep, and I want this to be a proper date. Don't you dare try to hold out on me?"

"Deal"

There was no awkwardness, just hanging out with my best friend. It was a good feeling. I got a text from Jessica then and we walked back to the apartment.


	10. Saturday School

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

EPOV

Thursday morning

The sun rose and Bella was still sleeping. I have taken to guarding her house at night while Jasper searches our side of the treaty line. I decided to go home and take a shower before school.

When I got back to Bella's her car was gone and I assumed she went to school early. When I arrived in the parking lot it was lightly snowing and there were quite a few cars missing including Bella's. I sat down in my first class and let my ability wander. Tyler and Mike got together a group of kids for an unsanctioned senior ditch day. God I can't believe I have been trying to keep an eye on her for a week now and Mike Newton is able to get past me. It is actually quite annoying. I am in a foul mood for the rest of the day. At lunch Alice disappeared. She didn't want me to know where she is going but I think there is a pretty good chance that she went to see Bella. I really dropped the ball today.

I waited in her room for her to get home. Around 11 I heard her truck coming up the street. I hopped out the window and went around to the front of the house making sure she was alone. She stepped out of the truck and I could not help but stare. She looked beautiful. Alice definitely found her; she was wearing something I knew she wouldn't have put together herself. She pulled out her cell phone and hit a number on speed dial.

"I'm home I just didn't want you to worry."

"Yeah I will. See you on Saturday… 7 o'clock it is."

"Love you Mo'"

Then she dialed another number

"Hello"

"Alice, I am home now."

She sighed then in tone a teenager would use when being lectured said, "Yes I will be in school tomorrow. "

"I'll see you at lunch ok?"

"Bye"

She took a deep breath as she reached the front door. When she entered Charlie was already in bed. She cleaned up the mess he left from his dinner. I went back to the tree outside her window. She came to her room and changed into her pajamas. Usually she would put on some music, but tonight she sang_. _Then the lyrics became a hum and she drifted off to bed. No more than an hour later she began to toss and turn. It looked like another nightmare. I wanted to go inside and hold her, but it would just make everything more complicated . . . if that is possible at this point.

I thought about what Laurent showed me in the meadow. He was thinking about her scent and imagined how she would taste. He thought about the hate and cruelty in Victoria's eyes when she sent him to find Bella. I should have been looking for her when Alice saw a glimpse of her. I was too busy with all the problems I blew up in my head. It was so consuming that I was bested by Mike Newton! That fact still pisses me off. The one thing I am happy about was that I did not decide to leave Forks. Laurent would have killed Bella when he came. I would have left her completely vulnerable. Now I just have to explain myself to Irina. Tanya told Alice how much Irina cared for him. I had no choice. I need to go to Alaska and talk to her in person, well once I find Victoria that is.

I continued to watch her sleep and around 4am Jasper found me. "Edward I have not seen anything out of the ordinary. She is definitely playing with us if she is out there."

"I don't understand it. It makes no strategic sense."

"I think that she can't find a way in between us and the wolves so she has decided to leave the area."

"Well she will not stay away long."

"I agree Edward, and you should come home." He looked at Bella's window "She will be fine"

"Yeah you are right I need to speak to Alice anyways"

We raced back to the house and when I approached I heard Alice's conflicted thoughts.

_Edward is watching her but he told her that he wants her to move on _

_They are meant to be but she will move on if keeps this up_

_We can't continue watching her every move we need to find Victoria._

_We should just leave and track her before she comes back. _

_The wolves are blocking me but I know I could help more if I get away._

She sounded so frustrated and when she heard our approach she switched to translating the national anthem to Korean.

"It's okay, relax Alice, we will go out of town tomorrow. You are right we need to be proactive instead of waiting for an attack. She will be safer and then **I** can move on."

I went to my room and plotted out a few areas we would search. I heard Jasper and Alice talking downstairs and decided to tune them out with some music. I put on Senses Fail and tried to just concentrate on finding Victoria. I lay down on the couch afterwards and listened to music until Alice came to get me. She had a couple bags packed and she motioned that we are set to go.

We walked to Emmett's jeep and Emmett and Jasper helped me pack the jeep while Alice concentrated on Bella's schedule for the next few days.

Vision

Bella holding a detention slip for Saturday school: truancy

Saturday school with 10 other kids

She fills out application for Seattle University for next semester

Charlie signing detention slip

Bella looking in the mirror at herself

Blank

End of Vision

"Okay well she will at least be safe until Saturday night. If I get anything else Edward I will let you know."

Bella looked so beautiful in the vision and it hurt knowing it was for someone else, but a part of me was happy to see her happy. I would concentrate on that for this trip. We drove to a camp ground about an hour away from Forks. We set up camp and split up. Alice and Jasper went North and Emmett and I went south. We had until Saturday night to find her.

BPOV

Friday went by pretty quickly. I looked for Alice during lunch, but I guess she and Edward started the weekend early. I wondered if they were out hunting or if they were in trouble. I had to shake the idea because I wanted to concentrate on last minute admissions letters. They were the only things keeping me in the real world. Every night I toss and turn waiting for Victoria to kill me in my sleep. I wake up and feel like someone is outside. I tell myself that I am being paranoid, but with Laurent showing up I have had bad feelings.

Every part of me wants to call Edward and ask him to stay with me, but after our talk I will not do that. He is right; we cannot be together if we are different. I keep thinking about my dream where I am an old woman and Edward is still 17. I would never be able to live my life. Love is powerful, but can I really go through life living in small towns with my boyfriend starting high school over and over? I could never have a career or a close friend, besides maybe Alice. I shouldn't be thinking about all of this.

I should concentrate on school and I should be getting prepared for a date with my best friend. I have never been on a normal date before. My relationship with Edward was so intense. We did not need to have a proper date. We just knew.

Tristan and I don't even know if we want to be together . . . like . . . that. Although it is nice to know that we have such a great foundation to build on. Edward is still a mystery to me for the most part. Plus it is nice to have someone who I can be passionate with. He will not have to hold back, like with Edward. We dated for 5 months; we were so in love and never got past first base. Oh my god why am I thinking about this bases? I should be concentrating on school!

Somehow I made it through the day and after school I went home and made stroganoff from grandma Swan's recipe. It was one of Charlie's favorite and I had to get his signature on my Saturday school form. When he got home and saw the table he was really excited. It was nice to have someone to cook for. _Edward and I would never share that._ We ate in silence and Charlie even had seconds. After he was done he leaned back in his seat and I dove right in.

"Dad, I have something I need you to sign, for school"

"What is it for Bells? A field trip?"

"Um, well I got Saturday school for an unauthorized field trip . . ." I tried to keep my tone light, but my stomach was knotted and ready for yelling.

"You ditched school?" His face was blank. Was he going to yell at me?

"Wow, I didn't think you had it in you. I was starting to think I got a defective teenager."

"Wait . . . What? You're not mad?" He was down-right happy actually by the tone he was using.

"I used to skip school all the time, so did your mom. I am just glad that you spent some time being a kid. You are in such a rush to grow up Bella." He Paused." How does Renee put it? You are our middle aged kid." Then he put on his Dad voice. "Now that you have it out of your system I would like you to stick to your classes ok? You don't want to mess up when you are this close to graduation."

"OK Dad, Thanks, I won't do it again."I handed him the slip and a pen as relief swept over me.

He signed my slip and I cleared the kitchen. I was still in shock when I went up to my room for bed. I picked up my guitar and played a couple songs that I was working on. My room seemed really lonely tonight. I changed into pajamas and went to look out the window. It was so dark tonight. After a yawn I finally crawled into bed and drifted off to my nightmares.

The next day I arrived at Forks high bright and way too early. I saw the usual suspects in the classroom looking as tired as I was. No one seemed too upset though. We all flashed smiles at each other that screamed "worth it!" We had Mr. Everly watching us. He left for the teacher's lounge after an hour. Eric went to the bathroom and when he came back he told us that Everly had fallen asleep in the lounge. We didn't even pretend to work after that. We all just sat together and discussed the day that got us in here.

"Angela looked like she was going to throw up after two drinks!" Mike said making a sick face.

"I don't drink usually Mike, I was just proud that I had kept one down" Angela defended herself

"Well by the time you get to college you will be able to handle more, babe" Ben soothed her

"The band was really good. Who knew that Bella could sing" Jessica said

I thought about the one song that Tristan convinced me to do. I felt my cheeks blush a deep red as I tried to hide my face.

"No Bella you were really good. I wish I could do that." Angela said

"Plus you were really comfortable on stage" Jessica added

"Can you believe we are almost out of here?" I quickly changed the subject

"Yeah this time next year I will hopefully be on a beach in California!" Jessica tilted her head back as if she could feel the rays on her face.

"I will just be happy to be out of Forks" I said and everyone nodded in agreement

Everyone had plans to go somewhere out of state, but we all applied to Seattle as a financial backup. It was nice to have a stress in common. Lately my problems have been supernatural and I can't talk about them with anyone. Jacob is so busy with his pack and the Cullen's avoid me like the plague. I miss Alice and Esme . . . well everyone so much. College talk is such a great escape.

"So what are you guys doing after this? Want to go grab something to eat or watch a movie?"

"Well we are grounded" Ben pointed from himself to Angela, Tyler and Lauren.

"I have plans, sorry" I said

"Me too" Eric said after Jessica gave him a hard look.

"I am free if you still want to go" Jessica said with some hope behind her words. They planned their night out and I made sure to note where they were going so I wouldn't bump into them.

Afterwards I went home and cooked dinner for Charlie. I put the dish in the oven to keep warm.

I took a nice warm shower and put my hair into loose curls. I picked out a dress that Renee bought me last year. It was a deep green and I have never worn it because it felt like something a Barbie doll would wear. It was definitely a date dress. I put on a tiny bit of make-up and then I sat on my bed to calm down. My heart was pounding out of my chest. 7 o'clock on the dot I heard a knock at the door. I took a deep breath before opening it.

When I opened the door Tristan was standing there leaning against the door frame in a black suit and an emerald shirt. He was holding a single orchid. He looked like he walked straight out of a copy of GQ.

He took my hand and kissed it softly. "Bella you are stunning."

I blushed lightly and put the orchid in the house. We stepped out into the cool night and I was more nervous than I have ever been with Tristan. It was ridiculous.

"So where are you taking us?"

"Well I decided since it is a first date we would follow traditional first date agenda, Dinner and a movie"

"Okay, that sounds great, but if we are going to dinner and a movie why are we driving in the opposite direction?"

". . . Because my dear Bella, we are not the traditional first date couple." He smiled and we drove until we arrived in front of the Forks estate. It was a huge old house that was used for town functions, usually big dinners for community clubs or the senior prom. There were no lights on but we parked the car and Tristan came to open my door. I gave him a confused look and he just kept on smiling. We walked on a path that wound around to the back of the building and I saw it. A beautiful gazebo lit up with twinkle lights. The lights glowed and faded slowly and it was beautiful. There were two of those outside heaters placed around a table set for two. "That look on your face has made this worth it." He said as I took in the venue.

"Tristan, how … this is like straight out of a movie." I stammered

"Well, I knew that you will be more comfortable if it is just the two of us. It is always hard to be yourself if you have the tiny town of Forks looking in on you. Plus when I found out Jared's brother does security here I could not resist. We get to play around in a mansion all night."

He knew me so well. I was so worried about people in town looking at us and Charlie knowing every detail about my first real date. This was so much more intimate and I could be myself. We relaxed and fell into our familiar rhythm.

-------- Mean while ----------

**(A/N: This chapter was getting a little long so I will post the next one later today.)**


	11. Tryst in Crimson

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

EPOV

Emmett and I found a vampire trail 8 miles from our start point. We split up and tracked it through the woods. We came across a newborn male vampire. We hung back in the woods waiting. Emmett ran to find Alice and Jasper while I watched and read him. He was a visual thinker and all his thoughts were circling around Victoria.

_She loves me and after this trip we can finally be together_

_I don't know why she trusted Laurent to do this she should have sent me_

_I wouldn't have skipped out on her_

_Plus it would have been nice to feed. We have been here for days. _

Then he was remembering a few weeks ago. They were in Seattle and they spotted Bella. She was in a club of some sort. She was at the bar with Tristan and later in the night dancing. Victoria wanted to grab her but didn't want anyone to see her taken. She lost track of Bella, too many other humans around her scent.

"_Riley, I need you to go to Forks and follow her scent. Do not let anybody see you. Don't touch her I want to know who you see around her. Let me know if she has any vampires with her."Victoria told him in a loving voice. _

Then his thoughts suddenly cut to Jasper running in the forest and my scent.

Crap, he knows we are here. Emmett joined me just then and I motioned for us to run. I ran ahead of Riley and Emmett ran behind. Riley stopped and looked back and forth between me and my huge bear of a brother.

"Who are you?" Riley demanded

Emmett laughed at his question and stared into his eyes with an icy vampire stare.

"Where is Victoria?" I countered

Riley laughed and relaxed when I said that," You aren't going to find her."

"Where is she?" I said with much less patience.

_She has probably already taken care of the police chief it is only a matter of time before she gets the girl too. They are too late._

"Emmett I will allow you to use your better judgment with our _friend_ here."

I heard Emmett's growl as I ran at full speed back to Forks. I called Carlisle and had him check on Charlie. I heard Rosalie say she was on her way. Less than five minutes later Rosalie called me back, "Charlie is missing."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at Bella's house. His cruiser is here, but he isn't. It smells like her all over the house."

"Is there any blood?"

"No, but he was here recently."

"Check the hook by the kitchen is there a note from Bella?"

"Yes,

_Charlie, I'm out with Tristan. I have my cell. Dinner is in the oven._

I'll find her Edward."

I dialed Bella's cell, it rang and rang . . .

---- Meanwhile ----

BPOV

After dinner we went into the mansion and a projector was set up in front of a big screen. There was a love seat across from the center of the screen. It was so warm and he even put out a bowl of chocolate ice cream (our favorite) and a huge blanket.

"So what's showing?"

"Well you have three movies to pick from. Although I know which one we will end up watching."

He handed me a bag with three DVD covers.

Casablanca

Once upon a time in Mexico

And

The nightmare before Christmas

All of them are on our mutual favorite's list. Casablanca was at the top of mine though. I picked up the DVD and kept it hidden behind my back, "Okay if you are so sure then which one am I holding?"

"What is Casablanca?" He said in his jeopardy voice. He embraced me and reached behind my back to check. He kissed my neck as he retrieved the disc. We sat on the couch and I scooted closer to him.

"Oh you are a very lucky girl. You get to experience this move, which I only bring out for special occasions, ready?"

He faked a yawn and stretched his arms out dropping one arm around me."Nice, huh?"

"Super smooth" I laughed. I put my head on his shoulder and we watched the movie.

We were at Rick's café waiting for Sam to play as time goes by when my phone started to buzz and before I could see who it was Tristan grabbed it. Shhh . . . he said.

"It could be Charlie!" I teasingly begged as I reached over to grab it. He held the phone above his head and effectively out of my reach. He looked at the caller ID with some annoyance in his expression and said, "Nope, it's not him. If Charlie calls I will give it back to you, but I do not approve of cell phone use during this classic." He grinned at me and I let it go.

This was truly the best movie ever made. It had everything, romance, action, and a twist. Plus it was so quotable that it will live on forever.

We made it to the end of the movie, but we weren't paying much attention anymore. His lips were so soft and gentle. I felt like I was lost in them. His hands were on my back and they kept me close to his warm body. We were pulled out of our comfortable bubble when my phone began to buzz again. We unwillingly broke apart and Tristan looked at the caller id. "It's your house . . ."

I sighed and answered the phone.

"Hi Dad"

"Do I have the pleasure of speaking to Isabella Marie Swan; daughter of Charles Swan recently deceased?" She purred on the other end.

"Where is Charlie?" I said speaking calmly and slowly.

"Well he is in quite a few places. I wasn't planning on hurting him, but you weren't home and I got thirsty."

I couldn't feel my body. Every inch of me was still. I don't even think my heart beat.

"You and your friend Tristan make a very cute couple. I am interested to see if Edward will allow me to kill him before he tries to save you. He will not succeed, but I want him to watch you die before I end his existence."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Mate for a mate, Isabella. I lost mine and now he will lose his."

"I am not his!" I practically screamed

"You may not love him anymore, which I am sure hurts him, but he still loves you and when I kill you I will have avenged the death of my James."

"He didn't want me. He left me. Not the other way around."

"It makes no matter to me Isabella. You are nothing more than walking talking food. I will see you very soon." She hung up the phone.

I dialed Edward's number and he picked up on the first ring.

"She got Charlie . . ." I said as soon as I heard him answer

"Bella, he is just missing we are looking for him and you. Where are you?"

"Edward, I can't stay in forks, I am leaving. Do not come after me."

I hung up and shut my phone off. Tristan looked at me and I knew he knew I was serious.

"Where are we going?"

"You are going home. I am going far away from here."

"Bella, I am here for you always. If you go I go."

"I can't protect you if you are with me."

"Protect me from what?" He asked confused

"You would never believe me, it is too dangerous." I said

"Bella, if anyone can protect you it is me. We should not split up."

"If she wants to find me no one can protect me. She killed Charlie. She will kill anyone close to me."

"Then I am not safe anyways, let me come with you. We can leave for the airport right now. We could be in Hong Kong or Paris by this time tomorrow!"

Tristan would not give up. Then I thought about what Edward said about being stronger together then apart.

"Fine, let's get out of here."

We got to his car and drove back to my house. We rushed to my room and packed a bag. I grabbed my passport and some money I had. As we were leaving I see Edward in the living room.

"Bella, stop we found Charlie"

"What?"

"Jacob smelled her pass through their land and he raced over and made Charlie go with him. He is at Billy's eating dinner."

I sank to the floor crying. Tristan sat down next to me and rocked me back and forth. Bella it is alright he soothed into my hair. Just then I heard Edward growl. I looked up and he was staring at something behind us.

"Well, I was wondering where he went so suddenly. I was waiting for him in the kitchen, but he never got to the steps." Victoria said as she came out from the darkness.

"Thank you for making this easy on me Edward. She grabbed me and just as she was about to bite me Tristan spun me behind him and she bit into his shoulder. Edward attacked her and she was on the ground. I pulled Tristan to the kitchen and he kept saying he was fine. I looked at his shoulder and it was bleeding.

I heard Edward and Victoria in the other room. She tried to run out the door, but Edward was right behind her. The wound was bleeding too much. I didn't know what to do about the venom. I am not a vampire. I can't just suck it out. "Bella what is going on my shoulder is burning."

"You – You're changing"

"Into what?!"

"A vampire" It sounded dumb even in this moment, but my eyes showed no trace that I was joking.

"Then you need to get away from me. I don't want to hurt you"

"No, I will not leave you to go through this alone. I will be here for you."

I grabbed a knife and placed the blade between our hands.

"Promise?" Tristan said between his painful breaths

"I promise." And I cut our palms. We squeezed our hands together and I felt the venom flow into me. "Always."


	12. Burning

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

"I am so sorry Tristan. I never wanted you to be part of this life."

"Stop it; I jumped in there all by myself. Bella, you didn't want to be part of this _life_ either. In your sleep you talk about his world. I thought you were having nightmares. Until I saw them, I never imagined you were serious. . . Is this going to get worse?"

His breathing was getting heavier by the second. We tried to keep talking, but the pain made our sentences rushed.

"Yes, but I will be here for you. It will be okay. Let's try to keep talking."

"Tell me about --vampires." His voice was shaky

"Sunlight, coffins, crucifixes, garlic, stakes, all bull shit." I said quickly through my teeth

"Blood?" he asked with fear laced gasps.

"Not . . . "I said as calm as I could.

"How much longer?"

"However long it takes for us to die . . ."

He was quiet and he squeezed my hand. Tears rolled down my cheeks. The guilt and pain were making me weaker by the moment. The only thing that gave me hope was the fact that our hands felt like a warm glow rather than an agonizing burn. I now know why Edward didn't want this for me. The feeling of being responsible for this pain was even more painful.

While we could still move I pulled us together and we never let go of each other's hands. We lay there as the burning consumed us. I clenched my jaw and tried to stay as still and quiet as possible. Tristan seemed to be doing the same. The stronger the burning grew the tighter we held each other. It was the only thing we could do to take our minds off the pain. I wished I had brought the knife. I just wanted to die. I couldn't even move anymore the pain became too great.

EPOV

_Why wasn't she picking up? Where is she?_

I arrived at her house and saw everything looked the same. Nothing was missing or out of place. Victoria had definitely been here. Her scent touched almost every surface. I ran outside and looked at the ground. There was a car here not too long ago. I ran following the direction of the tracks. When I hit the Quileute border I turned around.

_Where would Bella go?_ I flipped open my phone and called Alice.

"Edward where are you?" She was running. I could hear the wind all around her.

"I am in Forks. Do you know where Tristan lives?"

"Yes, I am on my way to Seattle now. Jasper is searching Port Angeles."

"Where is Emmett?"

"He is driving the jeep back and searching the highway for their car."

"Call me if you see anything!"

"I will, don't worry we will find her Edward."

I ran all over Forks looking for any sign of Bella or Charlie. I sniffed the air trying to find Victoria's scent.

It was an hour and I we still could not find them. Then I got a call. I flipped open my phone and heard Bella's scared voice

"She got Charlie . . ."

Her voice sounded completely defeated.

"Bella, he is just missing we are looking for him and you. Where are you?" I pleaded

She took a pause and then said the words I feared. "Edward, I can't stay in forks, I am leaving. **Do not come after me**."

The line went dead. I called back over and over desperately. It just went straight to voicemail. I threw my phone to the ground and paced.

_Think Edward Think what did you hear in the background? A movie! But it was too quiet to be a theater…_

I dialed Alice again and she answered on the first ring, "Alice they are somewhere with a TV it is quiet. They might be at his place?"

"No, I was just there no sign of them today. So I went to the dorms and I found one of his friends they are at Forks estate."

I ran to Forks estate and it was dark. I circled the building and saw the beautiful set up. They must have been on a date. The whole set up was straight out of a movie, the dim glow of the lights and the dinner for two outside. I went to the gazebo and saw the dinner had been put away and the bag was left. I followed Bella's scent into the mansion. There was a big screen set up and the end of Casablanca was playing. It was the movie I heard, her favorite movie. She had just been here 5 minutes ago. The sofa still smelled of her.

_Where would she go? Home. _Then I remembered something. The tire tracks in front of her house led into Quileute territory.I ran outside and screamed into the woods to get their attention. Before I was done two sets of eyes were on me from the forest.

_What does this bloodsucker want? If he thinks he is getting Charlie he is dead wrong. Yeah, dead being the operative word._

Their thoughts blended together as though it was once strand of consciousness.

"You know where Charlie is?"

Then I heard a noise from where they were standing and Jacob stood up.

"Why aren't you taking care of your friend Leech? You almost got Charlie killed."

"Where is he?"

"He is safe and away from your kind."

"Bella thinks he is dead! She is going to run."

"I sent her a message on her phone that he is safe."

"She turned her phone off. She is going to run or do something drastic."

"He is fine; I picked him up as soon as he pulled up to the house. I smelled that _she_ was waiting inside. So I grabbed Charlie and told him I wanted to take him for a ride in my car. He is at Billy's eating dinner. He thinks my car broke down and he is stuck for a while. Completely clueless."

"Where did Victoria go?"

"The female bloodsucker has not crossed our paths again."

Just then I got a call from Rosalie. "Edward I am confused. Her scent is all over Bella's street, but I cannot find her."

"Do you see Bella?"

"No, I am trying to keep up with Victoria."

"Meet me at Bella's."

"Okay"

I was already running before I hung up the phone. I was in her house in time to see Tristan leading her down the stairs. They slowed but did not stop as they saw me. Bella looked so beautiful even with the terror that filled her innocent eyes. I wanted to take her out of his arms and save her. His stare bore into me like he knew I was responsible for this.

"Bella, stop we found Charlie"

They stopped six feet from me. Bella's eyes were filling with tears and she choked out a quiet, "What?"

"Jacob smelled her pass through their land and he raced over and made Charlie go with him. He is at Billy's eating dinner." I spoke as clearly as I could.

She fell to the floor. The bottom of her dress covered her legs and she sat in a sea of emerald fabric. She was sobbing with relief and fear. My heart felt so heavy in my chest. Tristan slowly sat beside her and rocked her in his arms. I hated to see him comforting her. I wanted to hold her and make her see it was okay but, I was frozen where I stood. I heard him consoling her when I smelled it. Her scent was all over the room, but it was stronger in the corner. I saw her emerge from behind the curtains and I growled. Bella and Tristan looked up at me, but I never took my eyes off my enemy.

"Well, I was wondering where he went so suddenly. I was waiting for him in the kitchen, but he never got to the steps." Victoria purred as she stepping into their view. "Thank you for making this easy on me Edward."

She grabbed Bella pulling Tristan along with her. Before I could reach her she bit down, into Tristan's shoulder. He moved so fast for a human. He pushed Bella down and his shoulder was caught where Bella's neck would have been. He whipped out of the way as I made contact with Victoria's body. I rammed into her knocking us to the ground.

Tristan's shoulder smelled like her venom and I saw him watch as we fought. The understanding in his eyes was evident. He knew me for what I was. He knew us as monsters. I saw Bella pull him into the kitchen. She was looking at the wound. "I'm fine Izz. I'm fine." He soothed.

I looked to Victoria and we both knew he would not be fine for long. She threw my body and circled around the living room looking for an escape. She ran at me and we flew out of the front door. As soon as she hit the dirt she ran.

_The Meadow! _I heard Rosalie's thoughts as she screamed them to me. _The wolves are waiting for her!_

She ran alongside me and we kept Victoria going the way we wanted her to. We chased her to the meadow where she was stopped by a wall of wolves. She looked terrified. She turned to face me knowing she was about to die.

"She will never forgive you for letting me turn him."

"She is alive and James is not. You failed."

She growled and the pain his name inflicted washed over her thoughts. So I continued

"James never even loved you. He brought you along to keep himself amused. He was more enamored by the hunt than he ever was with you."

She jumped and attacked I saw this all play out in her head. I shifted my weight and grabbed her head. I brought her down on my knee and her head ripped right off her neck. The metallic screeching sound was almost deafening and I heard howls rise up from the woods. Her body fell limp beside me.

I picked it up and threw it to the dogs keeping a firm grip on her head. I stared at them and realized they were deciding what to do with us.

_Sam what do you want us to do? Do we let him stand? He didn't break the treaty._

"Does the treaty between our families stand?" I said in a powerful voice.

Sam nodded at me then his pack and the metallic shredding sound was all I heard as Rose and I started a fire. Once the fire was roaring I threw her head in. The wolves followed suit and brought the remaining pieces to the fire. Then they were gone. Just like that.

I watched the fire burn her body and then flipped open my phone. I dialed Alice and heard her at the house.

"Alice, we need to check on Bella. Victoria bit Tristan and I know she is going to be devastated."

"Ok Carlisle and I are on the way"

"Thank you, Rose and I will meet you there."

I heard Esme in the background saying she would prepare a room for Tristan.

We arrived at the same time and I smelled it, Bella's blood. We busted into the room and there they were on the kitchen floor. Their hands intertwined above their heads. They were embracing each other's waists with their free arm. It seemed as though they were sleeping then I saw how rigid their muscles were. I ran to Bella's side and saw their hands gripping each other for dear life, their mingling blood pooling on the floor beneath their hands.

"The venom has spread too far to reverse it." Carlisle said as he watched the agony spread across my face.

"This is not how I saw it happening." Alice whispered softly

"Son, we need to get them back to the house. Alice, no one see the house like this. It will send him into a panic, Charlie will be home soon. Rose, we need as much time as possible, leave him a note so he thinks Bella is safe." Carlisle gave each of us our tasks.

"Just add to the note she left, put that she is going away with Tristan for a week." I added as Carlisle and I lifted the two of them.

I tried to pull Bella's hand from his but they both fought me. Carlisle and I ran side by side to the house. Esme opened the door and we brought them to the room. They were holding each other so closely that they fit with no problem on the hospital bed.

"Is something wrong Carlisle? They are so . . . still." Esme whispered to Carlisle

"I do not know. I have never seen anything like it."

"It must have something to do with their emotional bond. Did Victoria bite them both?" Esme was looking over Bella's body for any injury.

"No, it looks like Bella cut herself and the venom infected her through the wound. I did not know that was possible. I thought the venom had to be introduced into the blood stream by the vampire." Carlisle said sounding interested.

"They've shared blood …" I said quietly

"What?" Esme said sounding shocked.

"They share a blood bond and so his blood flowed through her veins long before the venom. The venom spread to her body through his blood." I clarified."It is the only explanation."

"Well now we just have to wait."

I sat next to the bed looking at her. She was suffering, but I could only hope it was not much. She looked relaxed. Asleep even, but I knew from the speed her heart was racing she couldn't be. Her hair fell over her shoulders covered by subtle curls. The dress she wore made her alabaster skin even more beautiful. She was safe from attack, but her internal battle was just beginning. It was torture all around though because right next to her was the man I would now be competing with forever. . .

_______________________________ ________________________________________________

**(A/N: I am trying to put everything together in a nice package, but I would like to keep this story going so I have some thinking to do. I will keep updating though while I think so don't worry! Please let me know if I have left any holes or if there is something you would like to see happen. Thanks for reading.)**


	13. I've never been beat by a girl

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

(Around middle of day 3)

BPOV

Bella

_Tristan_

We figured out around day 2 (from what we can gather) that we can hear each other if we think directly to the other person. We haven't been thinking about anything constructive as we have chosen to suffer this in silence. Then a day later our burning dissipated in our outer extremities.

_Do you feel that?_

Oh thank God. I think it is almost over.

_Are you afraid?_

Yes, what if when my heart stops I stop?

_Then at least we won't be alone. I had the same thought._

How many people do you hear in the room?

_I am not sure. No one is breathing or anything. All I can hear is our heart beating. I think Edward is still here and maybe his father. I heard shoes on our left not too long ago._

"How much longer Alice?" I heard Edward's sweet voice say

"Not much longer." Alice said sounding more cheerful than the last time I heard her.

_How much longer is not much longer? Why won't they say it out loud! _We thought in perfect unison.

_What is going to happen after this Bella?_

I don't know really. I suppose we can get up and figure out what to do.

_What are the Cullens like? Can we trust them?_

They are good people. They are not like Victoria. They do not kill people. If you can trust a vampire these would be the ones to trust.

_If they don't kill people how do they . . ._

Animal blood. I would like to be like them in that respect. I can't imagine …

_I understand. No matter whom it is they would always be someone's Charlie or Renee._

Exactly. Oh and what do I do about Charlie? This is going to kill him.

_We were planning to leave next month; we can just make it look like we pushed it up. You can still take your test and we can go to college._

I don't think it will be that easy. I am not sure if we will be able to be around people. Edward and his family have worked hard for years to be able to walk around with humans, let alone sit in a classroom with them.

_Them . . . we are already different aren't we. We are no longer human. _

I am so sorry. We will find a way to make it work. We don't have to stay here; we can figure things out somewhere far away.

_You don't want to stay with them?_

Do you?

_I honestly don't know what I want to do. I just don't know how welcome I will be in your ex boyfriend's house. _

I know they would not do anything to harm us, but I can't stay here. It would be too awkward. I just don't know if we can survive without their guidance.

_Bella, God never gives anyone more than they can handle. We just need to decide to handle it well. That is all life is._

You have been saying that since we met. 

_Well I have a wonderful life because of it and it is going to make our afterlife even better._

Aren't you angry with me?

_Why would I be angry with you? You killed yourself to be with me during this._

You killed yourself protecting me. Of course I wouldn't let you be alone. I am so sorry this would not have happened if I were not a part of this. 

_Bella, this just happened. We handled the situation the best we could it is no one's fault. You don't want to be reborn with a negative outlook on life. _

Okay so we go back to your place and figure this out?

_Let's give that some thought. We don't have to decide now. I do know that whatever happens I want to stay with you._

Suddenly the burning rushed to our chest and our heart beat quickened. I say our heart beat because our hearts beat together. It no longer felt like two we were one; one mind, one heart. I felt our hands squeeze together and then it beat slow; not once, not twice, but thrice. Then our chest fell silent.

I waited and nothing happened. I took a breath, but I realized that I did not need to. It was so odd. Then Tristan "said".

_Open our eyes in 3, 2, 1 . . ._

I slowly opened my eyes and there were burning crimson eyes staring at me wonderingly. I knew it was Tristan even though he looked so different. Besides the obvious fact that I had not let go of him there were features that mirrored his former good looks. He was even more beautiful than he was before. His hair was still the deep chocolate brown, but it seemed darker next to his now pale skin. His features were so perfect. Even the scar along his left eyebrow that he got the summer we met had disappeared.

You look even more handsome if that is possible. Plus the scar you got from the oak is gone.

_Bella, you look so . . .beautiful. You have always been beautiful, now you are just a different beautiful. _

We brought up our joint hands and let go slowly. I looked at my palm and there was a silvery scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. His hand had the same.

_Well we always did want a tattoo . . ._

I can still hear you!

We sat up and then I heard nothing. I touched his knee and realized that is how this works.

"Bella?" Edward's voice whispered behind me.

I let go of Tristan and turned to see the apprehension in Edward's eyes. I also realized everything looked so different. It was like I had lived my life in the dark until now. The colors were so vibrant and had so much more detail. I searched the room and found the rest of the Cullen's standing in the doorway. They looked scared. I quickly looked behind us and just saw Edward and Carlisle. What are they afraid of? Tristan touched my shoulder.

_What is going on? Are we in danger?_

"Did we do something wrong? Why are you looking so terrified?" My voice came out like bells and I covered my mouth as soon as I could. Tristan looked at me like I turned into a toad.

Side effect of the change . . .

"What other side effects are there?" Tristan said trying out his new silky tone.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. We just don't want to startle you . . ." Alice said cheerily gaining both of our attention.

"How are you feeling?" Carlisle asked.

"1,000 times better" We said in unison. I looked at him.

_Get out of my head!_

You first! 

Oh I can see this getting annoying very quickly.

Our exchange must have looked familiar to Edward because he asked, "You heard him Bella?"

"Yeah, we figured it out a while ago. It is weird . . . and only works when we touch and I cannot hear his thoughts it is more like another layer of speech. Can you hear us?"

"No, not a word." Edward said looking a little more frustrated than anything.

_What do you mean hear?_

He can hear people's thoughts . . . all the time.

_But not ours?_

Apparently not.

I stood up. As soon as I thought it I was standing next to the bed. Jasper jumped into a crouch in front of Alice and Tristan's reaction was to mirror Jasper and he jumped in front of me.

"What are you doing?" I asked frightened

Jasper slowly straightened and so did Tristan.

"I don't know, he started it." Tristan pointed to Jasper.

"How are you doing that?" Jasper asked astonished.

"Doing what?" Tristan asked back with a defensive tone to his new voice.

"You are . . . in control." Alice answered.

"What are you expecting us to do Alice?" I asked puzzled.

It is okay, let's just calm down.

_Fine, this guy makes me jumpy though. Have you seen those scars?_

Well we should figure out the basics then get out of here.

_Deal_

Edward stepped in between Jasper and Tristan very slowly. "Newborns have a reputation for lack of self control. Aren't you thirsty?"

My throat began to have a slight burn. I looked at Tristan.

"Yeah, um we talked it over and we would like to pursue a more socially acceptable diet." Tristan said very carefully.

Carlisle looked pleased. "Well we can take you two out for a first hunt if you like."

"Please" we said.

"Twins are so creepy" Emmett said.

I smiled at him. It was the first time I had seen him in a long time. I was glad he was here to make this transition feel normal. Emmett made me feel normal? Oh goodness, something is wrong here.

"Before we go how about introductions?" Tristan said giving me a disapproving look.

"Oh I am so sorry, I totally lost my manners." I said a little embarrassed. "Tristan, this is Carlisle he is the patriarch of the Cullen family."

They shook hands and Carlisle took over the introductions. "This is my wife Esme and our children Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and you already know Edward and Alice."

"It is very nice to meet you. Bella always has such wonderful things to say about all of you."

"That is nice to hear. We have missed Bella very much."

As they had their conversation I turned to Edward and asked about Victoria. "What happened to her?"

"Don't worry love. She is gone. Let's feed you and then I will tell you all about it." he gave me a hug and I returned the embrace. He smelled even better than I remembered."Um, ouch . . . Bella you are a little strong." I stepped away, "Sorry." Wow that was different. Me? Strong?

"Okay okay we have a long time to finish this conversation. I would like to take the newbies out to eat." Emmett announced he put his arms around me and Tristan and led us outside.

"Emmett, do want me to come with you? I don't think you can handle these two alone." Edward said

"I have Jasper. If you are thirsty though knock yourself out. I am curious to see little Bella hunt."

"Okay, you say hunt and I think gun and stupid hat. What are we hunting?" Tristan said

"Well, I say we start out easy and go for elk and maybe mountain lions."

"Using?"

Emmett flashed him a smile that displayed his perfectly deadly teeth.

"Okay . . . well let's get going my throat is killing me." Tristan said with his usual gogogo attitude.

"I call Bella!" Emmett said

"um, is that a good thing?" I turned to Edward

"Well I am not sure, but I guess that leaves me with Tristan." Edward said.

"Great, we haven't actually had much alone time." Tristan said with a loaded smile.

"Okay well we will meet back here in half an hour." Emmett said as he dragged me away.

I broke free of his arm and hugged Tristan

Please behave

_I always behave Izzy, plus he picked me not the other way around._

"Edward, be nice." I whispered as I went to join Emmett.

He took my hand and we ran through the forest. It was the most amazing feeling. I knew I was moving fast, but I could see every tree every leaf for that matter. There was no way I could hit or run into anything because they all came at me so slow. I let go of Emmett's hand and ran full out. He called after me when he fell behind. "Wow you are fast Bella. I think you could even beat Edward. That should be our next bet."

"What is your current bet?"

" I bet Jasper that I could teach you to hunt faster than Tristan can learn. So you are getting a crash course. Oh and we will need you to be neat about it. That is a lovely dress and we wouldn't want and blood to get on it."

I looked down at my dress. It was actually spot free… Alice.

"Okay let's go win a bet"

We stopped by a stream and Emmett began his lesson.

"Okay close your eyes, tell me what you hear."

I did as he said and closed my eyes.

"I hear water and a light heartbeat about 200 feet from here. It sounds like two actually."

"Good Job. Now what do you smell?"

"Water, dirt, animals?"

"Good now put those together and use your instincts. Run towards the smell, but remember when you catch it tilt it away from you or you will get completely drenched in blood."

"Okay I am ready!"

"Go!"

I ran towards the deer, but then something else caught my attention. I turned and ran towards the smell. It was calling to me. My throat burned for it. Then I made visual contact, it was a person. I stopped in my tracks and the pain burned in the back of my throat. It was a hiker. He was minding his own business, but he was so far from the trail. Just then Tristan came running out of the woods. He stopped right next to me. Our eyes stayed fixed on the hiker, but we kept the conversation going.

"Your boy can't keep up."

"Yeah I ditched Emmett also."

"Is that smell coming from him?" he tilted his head towards the hiker; our eyes still fixed on him.

"Afraid so."

We sounded like we were in a trance.

"Damn we picked the wrong team. Have you smelled what they want us to drink?"

"Yep, oh and they are betting on us."

"Am I winning?"

"Have you fed yet?"

"Not yet."

I shook my head and pulled my eyes from the hiker. I looked at Tristan and said,"Then you are going to lose."

I turned and ran back towards the deer. Tristan followed close behind. We passed Emmett and Edward who looked horrified and confused. Tristan ran ahead of me to the deer, but I slowed because I saw a better target. A mountain lion was perched in a near-by tree and I jumped effortlessly onto the branch. The cat hissed and tried to swipe at me. This was actually fun, like playing with a kitten; the kitten just had longer claws. I stayed calm and after a few moments I thought about what Emmett had said about instinct and I went for it. I dodged the big paws and lightly placed my teeth to its neck. It went limp and the blood drained into my mouth. I twisted my body to keep clean and soon it was over.

I jumped down and saw three boys staring at me in amazement.

Emmett was the first to move. His mouth was still hanging open but he lifted his hand to me and I high fived him.

"Does this mean I win?"

I looked over at Tristan whose shirt had blood smeared on the front.

Jasper ran up to us just then and said," technically, but he wasn't supposed to tell you about the bet. Did I just see you two stop and observe a human?"

"Yeah, he is about 2 miles that way." I pointed in the direction we came from.

"He smelled much better than that stuff I just had in my mouth." Tristan said making a face.

"Just think about it this way, it's like eating your vegetables. You will get used to it." Emmett said as he patted Tristan's back.

"Mine tasted ok." I said wiping blood from my lips. I checked the dress and it was still clean.

"I think that is the first time I have ever lost to a girl." Tristan said stunned.

I walked over to him and got on my tip toes to kiss his forehead. Every time I would lose at video games or whatever he would console me this way.

_That just makes it worse . . ._

I know!

" What now?" I asked the Cullen boys.

"Let's go back to the house." Jasper said

"Race you" Tristan said as he ran past me.

"Not Fair!" I yelled as I ran to catch up.

I heard Emmett and Edward running up behind us and Tristan and I pushed harder. He came to the river behind the Cullen house and jumped it. I flew through the air and landed lightly on my feet. Tristan beat me, but we left the other boys in the dust. Alice came out to greet me.

"Alice, I hunted!" I said as I hugged her (gently)


	14. Twins are so creepy

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

EPOV

Around day two Bella loosened her muscles a little. She was making that face she makes while dreaming, right before she says something. I waited, but the words never made it to her lips. It was so frustrating. This is entirely my fault. I should have known that Victoria was in the room. I was so wrapped up in my jealousy and it caused me to ignore my instincts.

I have never been a jealous person. I have never been a lot of things before this girl. Carlisle thinks that vampires are stuck physically and emotionally in the state they were in as a human. Of course everyone has the ability to mature with experience, but she is my first love. Plus I am an eternally seventeen year old boy. How was I supposed to have the experience to deal with . . . all this? I have read about it, but it is not the same. Especially when you are sitting, watching and waiting for three days as the girl who holds your heart is inches away in the arms of another.

Emmett came into the room and picked me up and threw me over his shoulders. I would struggle, but I don't want to knock into their bed.

"What do you think you are doing?" I calmly asked him as he tossed me onto my couch.

"What do you think you are doing Edward?" He countered

"I am staying with her. This is my fault, she needs me."

"No, you are putting yourself through pure torture. She did this to herself, not the other way around."

"Em, you don't understand."

"I do understand Edward, you love her and you think because Victoria was able to get around ALL of us that you let her down. Ultimately we won. Yes, Bella is becoming a vampire, but it was what needed to happen. At least she got to make the choice. None of us did."

"She made the choice to be with him."

"Edward, you don't even know why she did it. For all we know it is because they are friends."

I looked at him skeptically.

"Did you give her the chance to do it for you?"

I looked down. "I would never ask that of her."

"Why are you so against her being one of us?"

"I wanted her to have the life none of us did. I wanted to keep her soul intact. Now she is damned like we are."

"Damned?"

"We are designed to kill Emmett. Yes, we choose to maintain the lifestyle we do, but no matter how much we try we will never be human. If we died where would we be sent? She is too good for that."

He put his huge hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Brother, I don't know where we will all go eventually, but I do not think this is the time to concentrate on that. She is beginning a new life, just be happy she is more or less safe."

I nodded and smiled at my brother's out of character talk.

"Okay so what do we do about the guy?" He flashed his usual mischievous smile.

"Now that he is a bit more durable my options have limited themselves." I said half jokingly.

"Well he must be an okay guy for Bella to like him so I guess we will give him a chance. Right?" He prompted.

"Right . . . now may I go and watch her? I really want to be there when she wakes up."

Emmett backed away from me and gestured to the door.

"Thanks" I said sarcastically

I walked back into the room and Alice was drying up Bella's dress.

"I always thought it was a shame she never wore this one. It just hung in the back of her closet collecting dust."

"She did look amazing in it."

"… Does look amazing in it. She is going to be quite stunning. She will probably give Rosalie some extra green in her eyes."

I heard Rosalie's angry thoughts in the next room. She was just too vain for her own good.

"How is all of this going to turn out Alice?"

"I am not sure, I am getting glimpses, but it could just be because they are in this state." She waved her hand over the two. "I think we might have been wrong about their abilities."

"Or maybe it is evolving. I am going to talk to Carlisle. Will you call me if anything changes?"

"Don't worry I will keep an eye on her."

I went to Carlisle's room and he was going over some books.

"Come in Edward, I am just trying to do some research on the blood bond theory we were discussing."

"Have you found anything new?"

"No, nothing yet."

"Eleazar told us about a similar situation with two men and the Volturi . . . Did you know them?"

"I do remember the twins that were with the Volturi, but I was not around for their change.

This case is so unique. Until now we thought the bond between child and maker was exclusive. Now we know that the venom can flow to the body of another as long as there is enough of the blood to carry it. The change itself creates an emotional bond between maker and child, now it can expand to include twins."

"What does the emotional bond entail? Why have we never heard of this?"

"Well, our family is very unique. I "created" us, for example, let's say that you were far away and I needed you. All I would have to do is call out to you and you would be compelled to come back to me. Even against your will. If I needed to find you I could. I choose not to use this bond because I did not create you to be subservient to me. I wanted to save you and offer you a place in a family."

I thought about how odd our coven was. In our world you almost never see a coven bigger than 3. The bonds between them were very thin if they existed at all. The strongest bond I had seen was between mates. In fact, the only maker / child relationships I have seen outside of the vegetarian culture were between mates.

"The Volturi have many guards who they have chosen for their abilities. Most of the loyal inner circle were changed by Aro, Caius, and Marcus themselves to keep their loyalties close. They think they protect them out of love and duty, but truly they would guard them without those qualities."

"Were the twins that lived with the Volturi made by the same vampire?"

"No Aro made Janus and Caius made Tiber. They wanted to have equal numbers guarding them."

"What were their abilities?"

"Well, Janus could determine the outcome of situations. He could see the past and future from any action. When he was human he was very intuitive. It seemed like mere coincidence to everyone, but Eleazar sensed it. Then his friend. Another soldier caught Eleazar's eye also. Tiber could control the elements mainly water. He was very stealthy as a warrior. When he became a vampire he could use the weather to cloak himself and practically be invisible to the enemy."

"Those are some very powerful abilities."

"Yes, we believed it was because they shared a blood bond as many warriors did during battle. When they were together they complimented each other's abilities well. Tiber could send a haze through the battlefield and Janus could get himself and a few guards to the enemy and kill the most important soldiers before they were seen. It was very effective. Then it grew out of control. Aro in particular was wary about their powers being so great and after seeing what they could do, he ordered them to be kept apart. This angered them and Tiber attempted to assassinate Aro. Aro in turn had Janus burnt and broken. Tiber could not stand being alone and he allowed the guard to kill him as well."

"So self sacrifice is linked to the blood bond?" I asked hoping this is why Bella made this decision.

"No, self sacrificed is linked to Bella's personality." He answered my silent hopes versus my question. "Bella is just wired to be that way; she did the same for Renee in Phoenix."

"You are right. I guess I was hoping she was compelled to do this rather than she wanted to choose this life."

Carlisle was silent and he was thinking about a way to stop my depression. He only concluded that he was making it worse. I hated knowing what he thought; it made me feel constantly sorry for things I could not help.

"What do you think Aro would do if he found out about Bella and Tristan?" I asked softly.

"Aro is fascinated by the anomaly, but frightened by their power. It would be best all around if he did not find out about them."

I nodded and walked out of the room. Alice was just leaving when I got back to Bella. Her muscles tightened again ever so slightly. That was the only change I could sense. I slunk into the chair beside her and just sat there waiting, wishing she would wake up. That thought reminded me of a song she used to play before sleeping.

_**Now I was sitting waiting wishing  
That you believed in superstitions  
Then maybe you'd see the signs  
But Lord knows that this world is cruel  
And I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool  
Learning loving somebody don't make them love you**_

I picked through a bag we packed for her when we went back for Tristan's car and pulled out her iPod. I went through the playlists looking for the song.

**** Driving Music ****

**** Can't Sleep Alone ****

**** Edward ****

**** In Progress ****

**** Sold! ****

**** Tristan ****

**** Chain Me Free ****

**** Aargh ****

**** 3 ****

I laughed a little as I read her titles and then I went through the songs in her "Can't Sleep Alone" playlist. I found it and listened to it twice. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing – Jack Johnson.

Afterwards I checked what was in my playlist. She uploaded all the songs I recorded for her birthday. I scrolled to her "Sold!" playlist and found a song labeled Little Miss Obsessive (Geffen).

_**everything is such a blur, it didn't come out right  
all of a sudden it's cold and we're falling apart  
no this can't be please don't leave me alone in the dark**_

and I guess we're really over, so come over, I'm not over it.  
And I guess we're really over, so come over, I'm not over it.  
Late night you make me feel like I'm desperate, I'm not desperate  
a little bit possessive, little miss obsessive, can't get over it.

_**. . . **_

Bella's sweet voice spilled into my head from the ear buds.

_**I never been a fan of long goodbye's  
I'm at the finishing line and you're just way too far behind  
in the morning, I got in the fight with myself  
I got the bruises to prove it  
then I swallowed your words and I spit them right back out**_

_**. . .**_

_**Now it's like a fairy tale without a happy ending  
but then again maybe we are just pretending  
why does it have to be so unfair?**_

_**Tell me that you care.**_

Bearing her soul for radio play . . . that is how she saw it. That song was definitely about me. I listened to the next track and it was as if I wrote it myself. I listened to her voice for hours and then Alice finally came in.

"How much longer Alice?" I asked expectantly

"Not much longer" She said happily.

I put away the music and sat on the edge of my seat waiting. Their heart beat began to race and I knew this was it. It slowed dramatically it beat once, twice, thrice. Then it was silent. Bella's eyes squeezed and then after a moment she relaxed and slowly opened them. I was sitting behind her and I just saw her eyelashes sweep open and stare at Tristan. He was looking at her wonderingly. This lasted for a few seconds before they raised their hands and let go. They examined their palms, they had matching silver scars. Bella suddenly popped up and looked confused. She touched Tristan and her expressions kept changing.

"Bella" I whispered so I wouldn't scare her.

She turned to face me and her eyes were full of love. My heart melted in that moment. She was still the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Although her face was almost completely different, I searched to find the features I fell in love with. Her bottom lip was the same and her hair was the same chocolate brown. Then she became distracted by her new sight. I remembered that feeling. It was like waking up and learning the world is in Technicolor. Then I heard her voice, "Did we do something wrong? Why are you looking so terrified?" Her voice flowed into the room like tiny chimes. It shocked her and she put her hand over her mouth.

"What other side effects are there?" Tristan asked more as an experiment than a question.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. We just don't want to startle you . . ." Alice said cheerily gaining their attention.

"How are you feeling?" Carlisle asked.

"1,000 times better" They said

They gave each other an odd look and it reminded me of the conversations that Alice and I have when we are trying to be discreet.

"You heard him Bella?" I asked

She looked worried and after a moment she blurted out an explanation," Yeah, we figured it out a while ago. It is weird . . . and only works when we touch and I cannot hear his thoughts it is more like another layer of speech. Can you hear us?" I have never heard her speak so fast. I took a nanosecond to listen and I said, "No, not a word". I looked at Tristan and was immediately frustrated as he was clearly "talking" to Bella.

Bella stood up by the bed and Jasper immediately went into a defensive crouch in front of Alice. Tristan jumped into a crouch mirroring Jasper perfectly.

Bella was so frightened, "What are you doing?"

"I don't know, he started it" He definitively had a temper, but a human temper. A normal new born would not have waited. He would have been on Jasper by now.

After Alice explained their reaction I stepped in between the two and showed Jasper it was safe. "Newborns have a reputation for lack of self control. Aren't you thirsty?"

I studied their faces and then Tristan said, "Yeah, um we talked it over and we would like to pursue a more socially acceptable diet."

Carlisle was please by that and immediately offered to take them for a hunt.

"Please" They said in unison again

"Twins are so creepy" Emmett said trying to sound like a child. Bella smiled at him and then broke into introductions. Carlisle took over and tried to examine Tristan without being obvious. Bella stepped closer to me and asked, "What happened to her?" Her eyes were full of worry and I tried to calm her.

"Don't worry love. She is gone. Let's feed you and then I will tell you all about it." She didn't flinch at my use of a term of endearment so I gave her a hug and she returned the embrace. She felt so nice. It felt like forever since I held her in my arms. It was nice to hold her without my throat burning. I squeezed her tighter and she did the same but I didn't realize how strong she had become."Um, ouch . . . Bella you are a little strong." She dropped her arms and slowly stepped back, "Sorry." She looked like she was embarrassed, but there was no blush. It was gone forever, this fact made me sad.

"Okay okay we have a long time to finish this conversation. I would like to take the newbies out to eat." Emmett bellowed from the back of the room and he pulled them under his massive arms and guided them to the outside.

"Emmett, do want me to come with you? I don't think you can handle these two alone." I said

"I have Jasper. If you are thirsty though knock yourself out. I am curious to see little Bella hunt."

That was going to be interesting. It was not too long ago where it was Bella who wanted to see me hunt.

_Edward, do you want in on the bet? I bet Jasper that I can teach Bella to hunt faster than Tristan can learn from Jasper. Terms $50 to the teacher with the cleanest fastest pupil._

I nodded and looked over at Tristan; He was worried about Bella hunting. I could hear him.

"I call Bella!"

"Um, is that a good thing?" Bella asked me looking amused

"Well I am not sure, but I guess that leaves me with Tristan." I said a little smug.

_Edward what are you up to? _Emmett thought / screamed at me.

"Great, we haven't actually had much alone time." Tristan said with a loaded smile.

"Okay well we will meet back here in half an hour." Emmett said as he dragged Bella away.

She broke free and embraced Tristan.

"Edward, be nice." She whispered as she passed me.

_You can hear me now, huh?_

I turned to him and nodded so slightly he was not sure if I had or not.

"Well let's get going."

Jasper came up from behind us and said, "So are you going to teach him?"

"Yeah, I think I can manage to feed him."

_Don't fuck up my chances of winning this bet Edward. _Jasper thought as he went to make sure the area was clear of any temptation.

"Follow me!" I ran full speed into the woods and Tristan kept pace then raced forward.

_This is freakin' amazing! _He was really enjoying himself. It was actually entertaining.

_He was thinking about his human life. Mainly pictures. _

_He thought about a water park. _

_He and Bella snuck under the ropes to a free slide with a steep 100 ft drop. The attendant was chasing them. "We got so much air! I thought Bella was going to have a heart attack." When they reached the bottom Bella looked so scared then yelled again!_

"You can hear me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I felt you jump into my thoughts. Plus you laughed at the same time I did. There is nothing funny out here."

"I already told you I cannot hear you." I said trying to be obnoxious and arrogant.

"Fine, you can't hear me."

_He was thinking about Bella's room in Phoenix. He snuck in the window and slipped into bed with her and she held him._

I think he saw me flinch a little because he got a lot more personal after that.

_He thought about their first kiss. She was wearing that pink outfit. He pulled her into his arms then pulled her closer. He put one hand on the small of her back and the other on her cheek. Her hands were on his back returning his embrace. Her breath caught just before he leaned in. She closed her eyes. He thought about her lips and their kiss deepened. His hand moved to her hair, but his touch was so gentle. It was passion not necessity. When we pulled away we were both short of breath. She smiled and he relaxed. He stared at her for a while then said, "I think that was the most amazing kiss I have ever had."_

"_Me too."She said and it looked like she meant it._

I quickly changed our course and made it difficult for him to follow. He looked like he was getting lost.

_Damn this guy is fast! What the hell? SLOW DOWN!_

I slowed a bit and led him towards some tame deer. They probably tasted the worst of all the stuff out here.

_He thought about Bella taking shots in a club and telling some random drunk who was hitting on her that Tristan was her boyfriend._

I didn't react, but I was still trying to get his last memory out of my head.

"I still think you are listening in . . ."

"What is it that you think I will find so interesting?"

"Nothing much, just some things you might not know about Izzy."

"You mean Bella?"

"Yeah, Bella."

I was done playing with his attitude so I knocked him a little when I passed him and he slammed into a tree. He just stared up at me then thought about his date with Bella.

_Towards the end of Casablanca, Bella was staring at Tristan then she kissed him. He thought about how she smelled and how warm her bare arms felt around his neck. Feeling her pressed against him._

"Stop it!" I yelled.

"Then don't try to mess with me, kid." He turned to me with that cocky attitude of his and brushed off his slacks.

"I am quite positive that I have not been a kid in a very long time." I snarled at him

_Okay I should be nice or Izz is going to be angry. _ He thought grudgingly

"Fine, I am sorry that was rude, but so is eavesdropping. Truce?" He stuck out his hand.

"Just till you eat." I shook it and then took a breath to find him something to chase.

"You can feel when I am in your head?"

"Yeah, you know that feeling when you know someone is staring at your back? It is exactly like that but in my head."

"Did you feel that when we met the last time?"

"No, but I knew you were different. Too damn fast."

"Let's feed you and get back to the group." I said quickly

I explained the basics and we ran towards a couple elk south of where we were. Suddenly he pulled away and jumped over some trees and past some bushes. It was difficult to follow him.

When I got closer I smelled it, a human in the woods. Where was Jasper?

_Where is Tristan? There is a hiker over there!_

We pushed towards the smell and saw Tristan and Bella running and laughing from where the hiker was. Jasper went to check on him and I tried to follow them. I found Emmett and we searched. I smelled Bella and saw her playing with a mountain lion, like it was a kitten. It was terrifying, but amusing as well. Tristan came back and fell into watching her with me and Em. She finally went in for the kill and it looked like she kissed his neck. The lion fell to the ground and Bella gracefully landed on her tip toes next to the tree. Her lips were red with blood and she looked like a beautiful porcelain doll. Emmett raised his hand and she high fived him.

_Oh yeah Edward, Best teacher ever right over here._ Emmett was grinning like an idiot.

"Does this mean I win?" She asked brightly

She peered over at Tristan whose shirt hand been used as a napkin.

Jasper ran up to us just then and said, "technically, but he wasn't supposed to tell you about the bet. Did I just see you two stop and observe a human?"

"Yeah, he is about 2 miles that way." She pointed in the direction we came from like it was no big deal. As if Jasper asked about a red sports car.

"He smelled much better than that stuff I just had in my mouth." Tristan said making a face.

"Just think about it this way, it's like eating your vegetables. You will get used to it." Emmett said as he patted Tristan's back.

"Mine tasted ok." she said wiping the blood from her perfect lips. She did a quick check of her outfit and smiled.

"I think that is the first time I have ever lost to a girl." Tristan said stunned.

She walked over to him and got on her toes to kiss his forehead like a mother.

"What now?" She asked.

"Let's go back to the house." Jasper said

"Race you" Tristan said as he ran past us.

"Not Fair!" She yelled breaking into a run.

"Nice Job Edward" Emmett said."He is in one piece."

I smiled at him and said, "I can hear him"

Emmett returned my smile and laughed, "Things are going to get interesting around here."

**(A/N: Sorry I know this chapter was a little repetitive, but Edward needed his POV.)**


	15. Ay amor es una tortura perderte

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

BPOV Bella _Tristan_

We sat across the Cullens at their dining room table.

_Do you find it odd that they even have a dining room table?_

It is all about appearances.

_Your boy over there has quite a tempter. Did you know that?_

Edward? Really?

_Yeah he knocked me into a tree. I was pushing his buttons and he lost it for a sec._

I thought I asked you to play nice.

_He can hear me when you are not around. He was eavesdropping so I let him have it._

What did you think about exactly?

_Please Bella, we only have so many things in common._

Please tell me you kept it PG

"Where do people think we are right now?" I asked Edward

"Charlie thinks you and Tristan took off." He said

"Took off to do what?"

"We left the note vague so we could buy some time."

"What are your plans?" Carlisle asked Tristan

Tristan let go of my hand under the table and answered.

"Well so far we know that we have a lot of loose ends to tie up. I have a summer gig I need to cancel seeing as how the whole disco ball in the sun thing will probably be a bad idea with thousands of humans watching me. Bella needs to finish her GED / Diploma exam and then we are set up in San Francisco. We have an apartment and school schedules set up for next fall."

"San Francisco?" Alice said puzzled.

"Well it has more overcast days than the other cities we applied to and they have a thriving musical community. Plus we are only 4 hours away from LA and it will be easy to earn a living." I explained.

"What kind of living are you planning to earn?" Carlisle asked.

"Well I have been a songwriter for a couple years now and Bella is a natural; and San Francisco has so many opportunities to play with bands. It will be easy to stay afloat."

"You can't be in a band." Alice informed us.

"Why not?" Tristan asked a little annoyed

"Exposure for one." Jasper added

"Have you not seen the youth of this nation? I could parade up and down Market Street with a sign saying Hi my name is Tristan and I am a vampire; may I drink your blood? No one would take me seriously."

"Well there are vampires who would take you seriously." Edward said trying to stay calm.

"We are not stupid; we would not knowingly endanger ourselves. We just want to blend in." I answered him.

"There are rules to follow and you need to keep a low profile."

"Amorteus Nocturne, coffin for Mary, awakenings . . . these are all bands that claim to be vampires. We are just going to be around small all human bands. We would get out before they hit it big. This is what we love. I am not going to go through life hiding because of something that happened to me. I am a 20 year old college student, I want to live life and have fun." Tristan said a little more annoyed.

"You guys go to school. I don't understand why we can't go to school and be a little social." I said trying to sooth the situation.

"You are talking about two newborns being set loose on a big city!" Edward exclaimed pacing along the Cullens side of the table.

"What is your problem?" Tristan was going to lose it if we didn't diffuse the situation. I grabbed his knee

Calm down, let's go home and we can discuss this and figure out what to do.

_I am sorry, they are pointing at us like we are going to go on a rampage._

What if we are? We don't know what will happen. 

_Izzy, I know deep down in my heart I would never kill anyone. I know the same about you._

I agree, but they obviously don't know us.

_We have a lot to discuss. Let's ask the rules and then go home._

"Okay well we are new to this so tell us the rules and we will follow them." I said to Carlisle.

"What about hunting?" Carlisle said.

"Yosemite is close by and there are so many Forests and Parks I don't think it will be too difficult."

"That many people around you all the time?" Jasper asked.

"People do smell good, but I think we have enough control that we will not hurt anyone." I added.

"You have only smelled one human!" Jasper was losing it.

"Yeah and we are only um 2 hours old or so. Give us a break." I retorted

"So you don't want to stay with our family?" Edward asked.

"Well I wasn't sure if we would fit . . . You and I aren't together. This is your family; my family thinks I'm a runaway teen. I need to do something to latch on to what may have been a normal life."

"Bella this could be your family too."

"Carlisle, we would like to go back to Seattle and spend some time to think about this. When we have a clearer idea of what we would like to do may we come back and talk?"

I looked directly into Carlisle's eyes and no one else's. Edward was very angry.

"Bella!" He almost yelled

I just put up one finger and waited for Carlisle's answer.

"Of course Bella, but I would appreciate it if you and Tristan would stay inside. There are a lot of things that could happen and I would rather know you are safe."

"Thank you, we will and I will keep in touch. We will be back very soon."

"Take these." Alice said and she threw a few boxes of contacts to us. "They do not last long; the venom in your eyes will eat through them in a couple hours."

She left the room upset and went upstairs with Jasper trailing behind her.

Emmett and Rosalie left for the TV room and Esme went to the garden.

Carlisle hugged me and left us with Edward.

"Tristan, would you please get our bags together? I will meet you at the car."

I squeezed his hand to let him know I would be okay.

_I'm sorry Bella . . ._

Don't worry it will all work out. I will see you at the car in a bit.

He left and finally I was alone with Edward. He looked so sad; I couldn't look into his eyes. I stared down at my feet. Edward walked towards me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Bella, I want you to stay with me."

"Edward, I have to think about Tristan."

He pulled back a little to look into my eyes. "So are you two . . . together?"

"No, I don't know. We . . . are confused. We were seeing if we wanted to be when all this happened. I need to talk to him and find out what he wants."

"If he wants to be with you, then what will you decide?"

"If I want to be with him then we will be together."

"Why are you confused? It seems like you should either want to be with him or not."

I pulled out of his arms and hugged myself as I tried to explain.

"Edward, he was going to be the love of my life. If I were a human then I would jump into his arms and embrace the life we could have. We would have grown up and gotten married and maybe had a family. I died. My life is different, no matter how much I want to continue with my plans I know they will change." If I could cry I would be crying at this point.

"Stay with us, we have all gone through this; we can help you, and Tristan."

"I need to be alone and figure out my relationship with him. I am responsible for this happening to him and I want him to be as comfortable as possible."

I looked up at Edward and he slowly closed the space between us. He placed his hands on my waist and pulled me into him. He placed his lips so gently on mine. He pulled away and it felt like a string was pulling out of my chest. It was so painful.

"I love you Bella. I always will. Please don't leave."

I did not know what to say. I couldn't even think at this moment. I hugged him and his body relaxed. I kissed him on the cheek and pulled away. I turned and walked out the door.

**(A/N: The next chapter is coming but this felt like the right place to end this chapter.)**


	16. Resembling an Enemy

EPOV

"I love you Bella. I always will. Please don't leave."

She looked at me and after a moment hugged me. I couldn't believe it she was going to stay with me. A huge swell of relief came over me and she kissed my cheek and then . . . she turned and walked away.

I watched her walk to the door and I realized she was choosing to leave. She drove off and I walked to the meadow to think.

Alice came and found me after a while. She lay on the grass down next to me and we stared up at the clear night.

"Tanya and her sisters are coming."

"When?"

"They left Denali earlier. They will be here within the next few hours."

"Irina is going to be difficult to deal with." I said dreading the confrontation.

"Tanya will not like the newest additions to our coven." Alice countered.

I thought about Bella living with us, "Do you think they will join our coven?"

"I do not know. I just know we will not see them for a while. I see the next week in great detail."

"Any more bad news?"

"Tanya thinks you are single. She has an agenda; I would use the buddy system if you want to avoid any more girl drama."

I sighed, "I don't know how I can express myself any more clearly with Tanya. Even before I knew about Bella I told her I wasn't interested."

"Maybe you could set her up with Tristan?"

"If only life were that easy Alice."

"He is an interesting guy, sort of difficult to hate."

"Not for me . . ."

"Well you two do have conflicting interests."

"Did you know they went out on a date?"

"I saw Bella getting ready for some event; I just did not know it was for a date." She tried to lie . . .

"She kissed him."

Alice did not answer. She just stared at the stars. We lay there for a while.

"I think they are here, we should go inside and greet them." Alice announced.

We got to our feet and ran back to the house.

"Edward! Alice!" Tanya squeaked as we walked into the house. She embraced us and pulled us towards the rest of the group.

_Oh I forgot how handsome he is. It feels like it has been so long since I saw him. I just need to be calm. Now that he and that human girl have broken up maybe he realizes that he needs a nice vamp girl._

I tried to block out her thoughts as we were catching up with the rest of the coven.

"Hello Edward." Irina's voice broke though my annoyance with Tanya

"Did Laurent ever make it down to you? He said he was going to stop by if he could. I am just worried because I haven't heard from him in over a week."

"Irina, may I speak to you outside?"

_I knew it something happened to him. Is that right?_

She was looking at me waiting for an answer to her thoughts. I gestured to the balcony and we sat outside.

"Laurent did come to see us about a week ago."

"Why didn't you tell us he made it?"

She was completely silent but her mind was racing with questions. Thoughts about the intimate moments they shared, and the fear that she was alone again after searching for a companion so long.

"He found me in the meadow and was inquiring about Bella. His thoughts were circling around a favor that Victoria a former friend of his had asked of him."

"Yes, she came to Denali. She wanted him to help her find someone. So he came here to search."

"He came to kill Bella."

Her thoughts went dark and conflicting.

"I thought you and Bella were no longer together?"

"We are not, but she is still important to me. Laurent was sent to capture her and turn her over to Victoria. Instead he decided that he wanted her blood for himself."

"Where is he Edward?"

She already knew the answer, but I knew I had to come clean.

"We fought and he lost."

"You killed him . . ." She screamed.

She became enraged and I held her so she could not run away. She screamed again and everyone came outside. Kate took Irina from my arms and Tanya helped to consol her. My family stood behind me.

"Irina I was just protecting my family."

"She is a human, he was one of us!" She snarled at me.

"She is going to be a part of our family. My loyalty rests with my family." I pleaded

"We are your family too! You betrayed us for a human!" She screeched

"Bella is no longer a human . . ." I tried to explain but it came out weak against her anger.

"And you say you two are not together so that means you killed my mate for someone who isn't even your mate!"

They dragged her away and tried to calm her down. A few minutes past and I heard her break free and run into the woods.

"Should I run after her?" I asked Carlisle

"No, she just needs to mourn her loss. We know that this was not your fault."

Tanya and Kate came out onto the balcony.

"I am so sorry; would you please help me explain that to Irina?"

"We know you would never hurt Irina or any of us intentionally. We knew Laurent was not taking our lifestyle seriously and she was blind to that fact. He was showing some odd behavior before he left." Kate said.

"She will come around after she calms down." Added Tanya

Eleazar came out to the balcony and Carmen came trailing behind him.

"Bella is no longer human?"

"Victoria came to find her." Carlisle said.

I excused myself and went to my room as Carlisle filled them in on the past week.

After a while I heard a knock at my door. It was Tanya. I really did not want to have this conversation.

_Why aren't you answering? _

"Come in Tanya" I said remembering my manners.

"Carlisle told us what happened between you and Bella. I am so sorry."

"Thank you Tanya. I am just trying to cope as best as I can."

She came to sit next to me on the couch. This felt very uncomfortable. I stood up and put on some music. I chose a mixed CD that Bella made me when we got back from Phoenix. I remembered how her eyes lit up when she explained why this band was so great or why that song was so perfect lyrically. Her taste in music is so diverse that it makes this CD seem a little unbalanced, but I loved it. I was smiling as I listened to the first song play. Tanya misinterpreted my emotion.

_He is glad I came up here. I knew it would make him feel better to have some company. _

She stood next to me and put her hand on my back. I think you should talk about it. It always helps to sort things out with a friend.

Her thoughts mirrored the sincerity in her voice, but I didn't want to discuss my horrid love life with Tanya.

"Tanya I appreciate the ear but it is still fresh and I would like to just sort things out for myself first."

_Oh God, he doesn't want me up here. I should have listened to Kate. I am just annoying him._

"No, Tanya you are not annoying me, I am disappointed at myself for my actions hurting Irina as they did."

_Are you sure?_ She raised one brow as she thought this.

"Yes, I am sorry for being so rude. I shouldn't be locked in my room when family is visiting."

She smiled at me.

"It's okay we will forgive you." She winked and it made me smile.

I leaned in to kiss her cheek and she turned her head making our lips meet for a brief second. It sent a jolt through me. I pulled away quickly.

_Sorry, I have always wondered what it would be like. _

I was shocked; I had never kissed anyone besides Bella. Tanya was not used to being rejected. She was beautiful, but I never looked at her as a potential mate. Tanya and her sisters always have so many admirers that she was disappointed by the lack of attention from me. It made me a challenge and much more desirable to her.

"Its okay" I said trying to stay calm. We were still close to one another so I put distance between us as subtly as possible. Alice came in just then.

_I thought I would help you out._

I nodded at her with a big Thank You in my eyes.

"Edward I thought you might want to hear the conversation downstairs."

"I should be downstairs with our guests anyways. Thank you Alice."

I quickly joined her and Tanya followed behind us thinking about my lips . . .

Eleazar and Carlisle were discussing the similarities between the sets of twins. Carlisle and I were not sure about the powers that Bella and Tristan had. We only knew that Bella could still block my ability and that Tristan made Alice's ability very difficult to use. Eleazar was eager to meet them and find out what they were gifted with.

After a while it became a nostalgic conversation between the two former Volturi. So I excused myself and Alice came with me so I wouldn't be vulnerable to another of Tanya's attacks.

BPOV

I got into the car and Tristan flashed a smile. I tried to reciprocate but I was feeling really low.

"Do you mind if we drive towards Jake's? I need to talk to him"

"Do you think that is so smart?"

"Trust me, Jake will understand. Do you remember the last day we all hung out?"

"Yeah, he was sick."

"Well, he is like us in a way."

"Bella maybe you should call first. Don't forget we look and sound different."

"Okay um, would you pull over?"

I dialed Jacob's number and he answered on the fourth ring. "Bella?"

"Yeah, it's me Jake. How are you?"

"I am fine, where are you? Charlie has completely lost it."

"Tristan and I are actually on our way to you. I wanted to talk to you in person."

"Yeah of course! I thought you skipped town without saying goodbye. I was hurt."

"Um, Jake, Tristan and I are not the same anymore."

"Why do you sound so strange?" His voice was worried

"Victoria changed us before she was killed."

The phone fell silent on his end.

"Jacob?" I asked hesitantly

"Where are you?" a cold imitation of Jake's voice said.

"We are about 2 -3 miles away on north road."

"Stay there I will come to you."

He hung up.

"Jake is on his way to meet us here."

"So what is he?"

"A werewolf . . . the day we dropped him off he was changing for the first time. I tried to carry him to his house but his friend Sam knocked me out of the way. It's a good thing because Jacob ripped through his human body and became a wolf. A huge wolf."

"Are there any other things out there that I don't know about?"

"Um, not that I can think of. I have only been exposed to us and them." I pointed out Tristan's window and saw two pairs of eyes on us from the woods. We slowly stepped out of the car. There was a strange noise and then there he was. In the middle of November in nothing but some sweat shorts. Tristan looked as if he was going to laugh but I gave him the look and he just leaned against his car instead.

"Hey Jake, long time no see buddy." Tristan said extending his hand.

"Hi" Jake replied leaving him hanging.

He stared at the two of us for a while.

"Who is out in the woods?" I asked trying to break the silence

"Quill and Embry."

"There are more than two out there." Tristan added. "They are also not sending happy vibes out here . . ."

Jake growled at us. Actually growled at us! I turned to Tristan and he motioned for me to stand with him. I leaned against the car trying to put Jake and his pack at ease with our relaxed posture. Tristan put his arm around me.

_There are 5 in the forest. Two of them are very young and want to attack us. The others are waiting for Jacob to give the word._

How do you know all this?

_I just do . . ._

What are you getting from Jacob?

_He is torn. He knows it is us, but he hates what we have become. He is leaning towards acceptance though because of Charlie._

So you are reading his thoughts?

_More like intentions or strengths . . . looks like he has a soft core though. _

"Bella?" He said looking me over with sad eyes.

"Yeah, it's me Jake."

Should I go over to him?

_Yeah, he has no intention of harming you._

I slowly walked over and stood a couple feet in front of him. We sniffed the air between us and wrinkled our noses.

"Man Jake, you reek."

"You don't smell so hot yourself . . ." He smiled a little.

"Have you seen Charlie?"

"Yeah, he came over to Billy's when you didn't come home Sunday night. He thought I had something to do with it since I trapped him over here while you cleared out your room."

"What does he think is going on with me?"

"He thinks you and Tristan ran off together. He said you left him a note saying you were going to be gone with him for a while. He thinks you are running off to be his groupie or something."

"Groupie?" Tristan laughed

I gave him a look. He stifled that laugh, but he still had a huge grin.

"So are you going to move in with the Cullens?"

"No, we haven't decided what we want to do yet. I don't think we can stay in the area though. Charlie will probably be looking for us. I can't let him see me like this." I gestured from my burning eyes to my new looks.

"Well, I will keep an eye on Charlie for you. The pack will extend the same treaty to the two of you as we gave to the Cullens."

"So you stay off our turf and we will stay off yours type of deal?" I said trying to keep the mood light.

"Yeah and no biting." He smirked back at me.

"I am going to miss you Jake. I can't say thank you enough for saving my dad. You have been such a great friend. Even now when I resemble an enemy."

I hugged him and he stiffened. I heard a lot of movement in the trees, but after a second he returned my hug and then I walked towards the car. Tristan walked over to Jake who put his hand out this time.

"I'll take care of her don't worry!" He said smiling and then he waved into the woods where I saw all eyes on us.

We drove to Seattle and I was silent the whole way. When we stepped into the apartment it was just as I knew it would be; everything was different. There was a kitchen full of food we would never eat, a bed we would never sleep in, and a calendar with all our goals hanging in a room that now meant nothing.

Tristan sat on his bed as it hit him. I sat next to him and he held me.

"Well, I guess we should make some plans."

We both stared at our calendar.

"I'm going to take a nice long shower. That is my plan. Then I am going to put on some new clothes and start my new life." Tristan said trying to sound as positive as possible. He ripped off the bloody shirt and headed towards the bathroom.

"Please be careful not to break the shower. I would like to use it after you."

"Yeah after I dented a rock by leaning on it I have been extra careful."

I cleaned up the room and threw away Tristan's bloody clothes. Afterwards I checked my phone messages and missed calls list.

Voice mail:

"**Bella its Jacob. That girl we have been tracking ran through Quileute territory so I picked up Charlie. Come over when you get this."**

"**Bella where are you! We are looking everywhere for you. Edward is so worried. Please call me back!" – (Alice)**

"**Bella, I thought we decided you were not going to miss any more classes! Come home."**

"**Bells, I will not be angry as long as you come home now. I am worried about you."**

**(Charlie)**

Missed Calls (25)

Jacob (2)

Alice (5)

Edward (8)

Charlie (10)

"That was heaven!" Tristan said walking out of the bathroom in a towel.

"Did you leave me some hot water?"

"Yeah, although you won't need it; the tap's temperature is above ours so it feels like a hot shower."

"Okay well now for step two of your plan." I said motioning to his towel.

"Bella, am I making you nervous?"

"No . . . your swim suit covers less than the towel."

"Well, you just seem a little jumpy that's all"

"I don't know why . . ."

"You can't tell me that you don't notice how odd our relationship has been though."

"Yeah, but we have been pushing the limits lately and I think it is making things weird between us."

He quickly picked out an outfit and returned to the room (fully clothed).

"Well we have had three days to think. So what are your thoughts on the date?"

"Until the interruption I was having a lot of fun. It was like we were just hanging out, in a teen movie, just with more hormones."

He laughed at my description, which made me laugh too.

"Yeah, there were definitely hormones involved."

"So have you always been attracted to me or is this a new thing?" I asked in our normal rhythm.

"Bella you have always been gorgeous . . . just young."

"Young?"

"Yeah, I mean I met you when you were in grade school still. I was in middle school then we weren't really in each other's peer group till we were in high school. Even then I was a junior and you were a freshman. That doesn't seem like a big deal now, but the thought of dating anyone that young is kind of impossible at that time. Even if only 2 years difference. Then we were apart for a year and boom you are 18 which makes a world of difference."

"Wow that was such a guy thing to say . . ."

"I didn't mean anything statutory Bella."

"Uh huh" I teased

"What about you? You have never initiated any _contact_ between us till recently. What changed?" He said trying to keep the conversation on track.

"Well when I was old enough to find you attractive you always had a girlfriend. It never came up."

"We used to have sleep overs up until I went to college. I didn't even have a girlfriend towards the end of my senior year."

"Yeah, well you were leaving then. Plus our first _contact_ was initiated by you just a few days ago."

"I think our attraction came from need. You were newly single I was newly single. We are both far from home and the familiarity is so comfortable."

"That makes sense, how do you feel about it now?"

"Well, you are still gorgeous and I still feel more . . . free, chained to you than when I think about being away from you. I don't know if that comes from a platonic or romantic place."

"You've thought about being away from me?"

"Well, yeah when we "woke up" I was not sure what was going to happen. Edward seems to be more interested in you now that you two are the same species. You could decide to leave me to be with him. I have to be ready to let you do that."

"Is that why you messed with him in the forest?"

"Yeah, I am not sorry. He was planning on doing worse to me so I could not back down. He is jealous of our bond."

"You know I would never leave you for some guy right?"

"Yeah, but I see the way you look at him. He was never just some guy."

"Okay, you are right, but still you and I are chained as you say. I feel like our bond goes beyond a normal friendship. The attraction makes it confusing, but I think no matter if we are together or if we find our soul mates we will always remain with one another. I never want to wonder when the next time I will see you will be or where you are."

"Well it is good to know we are on the same page. So what do we do about the attraction?"

"I wish sleep were still possible. I would say let's sleep on it and deal with it tomorrow."

"Go take your shower and think; I will do the same out here."

I nodded and started towards my bags.

"Oh and take some clothes with you or we might have our decision made for us." He gave me a bad boy smile and I just shook my head as I gathered up my clothes.

I took my time and when I got out Tristan looked worried.

"What is the matter?"

"I have been testing out this ability of mine. It is so odd."

"Why?"

"I think I am able to sense when a decision is made or when someone is using an ability. I felt Edward rummaging around in my head. I felt it when the wolves tried to hide their numbers from us, or when Jake tried to stay stone faced when he really wanted to hug you."

"So I shield and you expose?"

"What?"

"Edward thinks my ability is to shield myself from the abilities of others."

"Does it work?"

"He can't hear my thoughts. So it must."

"Could he hear your thoughts before?"

"No, I think that is why he spent so much time with me. I was like a puzzle for him."

"Could he hear mine?"

"Not when we were touching. Now I guess it is only when you and I are far apart."

"We should test these theories next time we see them."

"So we are going back?"

"Eventually, but for now we need to cement our plans."

"Okay well I say we test out our control. Then we make the decision where to go."

"The club?"

"How about somewhere with less people."

"We could walk campus?"

We decided on the back part of campus where people usually jog or hike and we walked over at human pace. We put on contacts and tried to look as normal as possible. We walked and people jogged and passed us by. My throat tingled, but I was not tempted to drink. I looked at Tristan and he was fine too.

We held hands so we could talk without anyone overhearing.

This is amazing.

_Walking?_

No, being able to skip all the blood thirsty stage and go straight to being . . . Normal!

_Oh, well I guess it is pretty amazing then. How long did you know about all of this?_

Not long actually. I didn't find out until I started dating Edward.

_He just told you?_

No actually I got it out of Jacob. I went to the beach with some of the kids from school and I saw him there. His friends seemed to have a real problem with the Cullens so I used my feminine charms to get the story out of him. 

_Wow, poor kid he never had a chance._

I am sure it looked really awkward actually. Well he told me the Quileute legends about his people being descended from wolves and their natural enemy was a creature called a cold one. I had wondered ever since the truck/mini-van accident, but I didn't think vampire; I thought more comic book hero. I researched cold ones and there were so many similarities. Then once he knew I knew it was like pulling teeth for anything more than some dietary facts.

_Then you met Victoria?_

Yeah, she was passing through with her mate James. James was a tracker and he found Edward's possessiveness to be a challenge. So I ran to Phoenix, but he followed. Edward was able to kill him but not before I was bitten. I showed him my forearm with the bite mark scar. Edward sucked out the venom before I changed. They told everyone I fell out of a window. I am sure you heard that gem when you visited Phoenix.

_No, actually no one has heard from you. I bumped into Megan and all she said was that you had visited briefly before Renee sold your house._

We walked for over an hour slowly going to more populated areas. We stood in the middle of the library at one point and other than stares because of our new attractive features, nothing. No blood lust. No drama. I know I promised Carlisle we would stay inside, but I just needed to know I could do this. When we approached the apartment we sensed something wrong. A vampire in the area . . .


	17. Vampires will never hurt you

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

EPOV

Irina became conflicted and Alice saw her returning then leaving again. The Denali coven decided to stay with us until she returned. As much as I tried to avoid her Tanya was always somewhere close by. After three days of dodging her, I just let her tag along. She was fun to be around, but it was usually ruined by her thoughts. She was really persistent, and it was a turn off. I went to the garage to work on my car. She followed of course and we discussed music and how it has changed over the years . . . then she just blurted out her thoughts.

"Edward have you ever dated anyone besides Bella?"

"No." I have resorted to monosyllabic answers to her personal questions. It helps speed things along.

"Then how do you know if she is the one?"

"Tanya, please I would rather not discuss this."

"I am just trying to help."

"Sure." I said trying to rein in the sarcasm that wanted to flow out of my mouth.

"Have you ever kissed anyone besides Bella?"

"I already answered that question."

"You don't have to be dating to kiss someone Edward."

"Well I am not wired that way."

_She thought about the people she had kissed during her life . . ._

"I think it would be an eye opener for you to at least kiss someone else. Who knows it might just shift you out of your old fashion outlook on life."

She pulled me out from under the car and sat next to me on the ground. She put her hands up as if surrendering. "I promise I will not jump you. I just think it would help put your situation in perspective."

"Now let's say I said great let's try it out and I am still 100% in love with her afterwards. What happens to you?"

"Simple, I would be happy because I got to kiss Edward Cullen and I have that curiosity out of my system."

"Would you say that it would be out of your system to the point where I would not have to hear about it again?"

"Yes"

My thoughts were conflicted. I could just kiss her and this would all be over. She is beautiful, but she is not Bella. Bella has kissed someone else though. It did change her outlook I guess. The thoughts were swirling in my head making me even more confused.

"Edward, you would not be doing anything wrong. You are single."

I sat up and looked at Tanya. She really wanted me to give in. I stood up and looked around. "If you don't want anyone to see, this place is perfect, no one is around." She held her hands up to me and I took them and pulled her up. She placed her hands on my waist and looked into my eyes expectantly.

_I will not be the one to initiate it Edward. That is part of the experiment._

I brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face and leaned in slowly and stopping at the last moment before our lips touched. I took a breath and she closed her eyes and as she waited I whispered, "I think I will stick to my values. You are beautiful Tanya and I am a fool for my lack of interest."

Her eyes flew open and I could see her annoyance as I stepped away from her. All she managed to think was _TEASE!_

I laughed and went back to working on my car.

"Well, alone time is often the best for working through ones misery I suppose." Tanya mused

She left as I slid underneath the car again.

_Finally_ I thought.

"Wow, Eddy that one is quite the man-eater. You better watch yourself. She has you in her cross hairs. You are lucky that Bella didn't see that little flirty exchange."

I closed my eyes and sighed. The one person in the world I really didn't want to see at this moment. I slid back out from under the car.

"Hello Tristan, How are you?" I said with mock sincerity

"Great actually I think I am getting the hang of this super human stuff. Where's Bella?"

"She isn't here."

"Oh, this is awkward. Did you decide to go with the blond instead?" His tone was teasing, but his thoughts were worried.

"No, what are you talking about?" I was reaching annoyed quickly

"She said she was coming here to talk to you. If she is not here the talk must have gone badly and she left, right?"

"She never came." I snapped

The happy facade left his face and let the worry shine through.

"Damn It!" he groaned and he began running in the direction he came.

"Wait! What is going on?"I ran after him trying to keep up.

"What the hell did you do?" He turned on me. "She was here I can feel it. What did you do?"

"Why would I do anything when I am trying to get her back?" I said each word with emphasis.

"Why did she run then?" He mirrored my tone.

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. No answer. He dialed another

"Jacob, its Tristan. Did Bella come and see you yesterday?"

"No I am not with her and Cullen doesn't know where she is."

"Thanks kid, I will call and let you know what's up ok?"

"Bye"

"You're friends with Jacob?" I asked him skeptically.

"Yeah, he smells a little but he is loyal as hell. He has been a real friend since we changed. Plus we didn't want to leave town without saying goodbye to him"

"Where are you going?"

"We are just leaving the area, and then we were hoping to meet up with your family when the heat dies down. Charlie has already sent his cop buddies to the apartment looking for her. She was going to set things up with your family and I was tying up loose ends with my apartment and the car."

"So you think she ran?"

"I am going to try a place she wanted to go to before we left. I will call you later."

"No I am coming with you."

"Fine, let's see if you can keep up old man!" He booked it and I was able to trail him. He slowed as we entered a more populous part of the city (Seattle). He grabbed a cab and we went to the space needle.

_It is closed because some idiot tried to jump off last week._ He thought at me while we were in the cab.

I looked up and saw it was oddly empty. The cab was able to drop us off where pedestrians could not go. We snuck through a door that had been left unlocked. Tristan ran up through a service entrance and I followed. We got to the top and crawled through a hatch that opened to the outside of the space needle. I felt the breeze on my face and it carried Bella's scent. She was standing on the edge and she sensed us but did not turn around. She was wearing all black and her white skin practically glowed in the moonlight. The wind whipped her long hair around her shoulders. She tilted her head back and raised her arms and held them out. She looked so beautiful, the black fabric flowing around her petite frame exposing her midriff. Tristan came up behind her and took her hands and used them to hug her. She turned and looked into my eyes. Tristan let go of her and she came over to me. She threw her arms around me and said, "I missed you."

"Bella, what is going on? Where have you been?"

"Can we talk about it later? I just want to enjoy this." She was beaming. It put me at ease, but it made me sad for some reason too.

She grabbed my hand and we sat at the edge with our legs dangling off. Tristan's thoughts were silent as were hers. It was so peaceful. I can't remember the last time I could relax and not hear the thoughts of others. Bella was leaning back on her elbows as if the moon were shooting warm rays on her face. I looked over at Tristan and he seemed completely relaxed. They were not touching and their posture was not overly affectionate. It felt as though we were just three friends relaxing. None of the anger or jealousy was present.

"Can we try something?" Bella asked me with a sly smile on her face. She didn't wait for an answer she just scooped up my hand and Tristan's with hers and slowly I heard music. I quickly realized I was being included in their inner speech. I heard Tristan singing, but outside he seemed calm and quiet. "Vampires will never hurt you – My Chemical Romance" she said as she let go of our hands.

"Do you do that a lot?" I asked

"We used to . . . only audibly. It was the only way I could get her to sing. Now it is so easy with the mind meld thing, plus it is the only way to hear the voices we are used to." Tristan said sounding nostalgic

"I am getting used to my new voice. Now if I had Brody Dale's voice and then I got this one I might be upset." Bella said as she smiled.

"I meant the conversations, but that was interesting." I clarified

"Yeah, but that is the first time we let anyone in. You should speak up next time." Tristan said

"How?" I asked.

Bella joined our hands and they looked at me.

{Think directly at you?}

_He can be taught!_

Cool right?

She tried to let go of our hands, but I held hers. She looked up at me and smiled. She wasn't pulling away. After that the sky began to get cloudy and the mood changed. Bella squeezed my hand and pulled away as she stood up. We got up and stood on either side of her.

After a long pause she said, "Thank you for giving me that moment. I am really going to miss both of you."

"Bella No!" Tristan growled.

"Calm down, it is not as bad as it sounds. Eventually I will come back." She said with a pacifying tone.

"If they let you!" He was yelling now.

"Inside voices please?" She said with a weak smile.

"Isabella Marie Swan you will take this conversation seriously!" Tristan said in the most serious tone I had ever heard come from him.

"Janus said that if I go, we could be back in no time. He will be there to guide and protect me."

"Janus?" I interrupted her

"Yes, do you know him?"

"No, he is dead."

"Aren't we all?" She was trying to use her cuteness to offset this news. It wasn't working.

"Not funny Bella. He was killed by the Volturi."

"No, he is very much still in existence. He just needs some help to get out of their control. I will help him and he will be free."

"Bella let me make sure I understand you. You are going to Volterra with Janus under the pretense that you will be killing a being older than all other vampires?"

"Oh, god no. I am not going to kill anyone. Especially not Janus' maker. Do you know what would happen to him if his maker were to die?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"That is not true."

"Your maker is dead, nothing happened to you!"

"My maker is standing right there." She pointed to Tristan.

"Mine is right there." He pointed back to Bella.

"You did not create each other! Please let's go and see Carlisle. Then you make your choice." I begged her.

"No, absolutely not. She is not leaving with him! End of story." Tristan yelled.

"_She_ is making her own decisions." Bella said angrily

"Bella be reasonable! We know he only helped us so that you would go with him to Volterra. He has an ulterior motive, how can you trust that?"

"Well he helped us. Now I should go. I won't be hurt, plus wouldn't it be nice to actually live and not look over our shoulders?"

"Bella, we are powerful enough that we can do just that."

She looked sad, "You are mistaken. No one is ever that powerful." She jumped off the needle. We watched her fall and she grabbed onto the building and swung into an open hatch.

Tristan didn't move. "Aren't we going after her?" I asked

"No, let's go speak to Carlisle. She is gone."

"We can still find her." I insisted heading towards the hatch we came up through.

"No, trust me you can't" His voice was so defeated that I actually felt bad for him.

His eyes followed a motorcycle on the ground heading for the airport. He knew it was Bella.

What happened in the last week?


	18. Yin to my Yang

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

**(A/N: Hello faithful readers. Sorry about mixing up the time line in the last chapter. I thought it would be better if no one knew what was going on. It did seem a little confusing I realize but this chapter should clear most things up. BTW Janus was introduced in previous chapters just click back to Ch 14 Twins are so Creepy and [ctrl + F Janus] you'll find him. Oh and thanks for taking the poll on my profile. I am actually surprised by the results thus far. I will keep it up for a couple more days! )**

**EPOV**

We descended the stairs and when we hit the street Tristan headed for a parking lot. "You coming?" he called back to me as he motioned to the parking lot.

_You mind helping me get these back to Forks?_

He walked up to two Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycles, one green and one black. "You can ride Bella's; she road off with Janus." He mounted the green one and put on a matching helmet. I looked at him with a questioning look.

"Hey you guys are the ones bitchin' about exposure. If I go the speed I am planning to without a helmet that would just make me all the more noticeable. Oh and these are supped up so don't worry we will be back in Forks in no time."

I inspected the bike and was impressed. The stock models of these bikes can go past 200 mph.

"C'mon Cullen, you have ridden before haven't you?" He had that same attitude that amused and annoyed me all in the same breath.

"You talk way too much." I said trying to remember that I disliked him above all.

We sped out of the parking lot and onto the freeway before we knew it. We raced alongside each other only keeping to one lane when there was approaching traffic. We slowed a bit when we reached Forks, but honestly I doubt a cop could have pulled us over if he saw us. We pulled into our garage and Jasper was eyeing the bikes.

"Alice was right, these bikes are nice."

Tristan threw the keys at Jasper. "Take her out for a spin."

Jasper didn't hesitate and was leaving by the time we stepped into the house. Alice was waiting for me with more bad news.

_Irina has decided to go to the Volturi and ask for a judgment with their counsel. She is so confused so she wants them to make the decision._

"Does she realize they may kill her for wasting their time?" I answered her out loud letting her know that it was okay to talk I front of Tristan.

"No, she thinks it will win her favor."

Irina and her sisters were spared by the Volturi years ago when their mother was killed for creating an immortal child. Since then they follow the rules that have been set to the letter fearing negative attention from the royal coven. I am shocked that she thinks asking for my judgment will bring her favor with these ruthless vampires.

"Where is Eleazar? I would like to introduce him to Tristan." I told Alice.

"You could just ask me if you want to know my ability." Tristan said acting as if he didn't care either way.

"Has anyone told you that you are exceedingly annoying?"

He turned to stare at me and looked as if he were reading me. He smiled and waited for Alice to leave. Then he faced me and thought directly at me:

_I know how hard it is for you to admit that I may not be that bad of a guy. Especially since I know you have probed my mind and seen intimate parts of my relationship with your ex, but we will be working together soon, and I suggest we move past all that. _

He stepped back and surveyed the living room.

_Oh and kudos on that handholding action earlier, but I think even Alice could have managed that._

I ignored him, but he knew I heard him.

He walked away then and sat at my piano. "May I?"

"You are going to anyway, aren't you?"

"Not without permission, I do have respect; I just am selective about using it."

I rolled my eyes. "Please be my guest"

"Thank You." He did a slight bow in my direction.

He began playing and Alice walked back with Eleazar and Carlisle.

"Confident isn't he?" Alice commented

"Yes, one his many endearing qualities" I said sounding more sarcastic than I intended.

"Actually it is my main quality. It is infectious so be careful or you may find yourself having more fun in your existence."

"Is that your ability?" Eleazar asked

Tristan turned around. "You can't tell?"

"You said we should ask you instead of using an ability to find out."

"Thank you, that was considerate. No, my confidence is not my primary ability."

"Primary?" Eleazar asked intrigued.

He dropped the smart ass tone and adopted an educational one. "Our abilities are derived from our personality traits. Alice for instance must have been clairvoyant in life and so in afterlife she sees the future. You must have been insightful so you can read minds. I was, am confident and it is a catching emotion. Right Jasper?"

Jasper walked in right then and he said, "It is quite powerful as emotions go."

"It has always been great for fitting in and knowing things about others. In life I was right 95% of the time."

"So what is your ability?"

"I am the yang to Bella's yin." He said simply, "She can shield and I expose. Or as Edward likes to put it I am exceedingly annoying. My actions are clear and obvious where Bella's are subtle and hidden."

"So you can tell when people are lying?" Alice inquired

"Yeah, I can sense truth in all forms."

"Can you use it on Bella?" I asked

"No, she is immune because she has the ability to block any attack of the mind or outside influence, anything intangible. I like it better that way because Bella was, is mysterious and it draws people to her."

"Exposure is an offensive or active ability. Shielding is a defensive or dormant ability. Completely complimentary and sets a balance in its opposition." Eleazar mused while pacing in the foyer.

"She can use hers on you." I observed.

"… As can the rest of you. I am a sword not a shield."

"I can't see your future though." Alice almost whined.

"How did you see the bikes then?"

"Oh . . ."

"Janus thinks that Bella's ability took over when we were human as a precaution. She shielded me from your abilities subconsciously. During the change she was losing control because of the pain. That was why you could sense when we were . . . done."

Alice thought and then turned to leave the room.

"You know Janus?" Carlisle was as perplexed as I was, but his tone was calm as usual.

"Yeah, I know him . . . Carlisle please don't be angry with us." He reached out one hand out to Carlisle, "Bella and I went to take a walk around the campus, to see how _dangerous_ we are. No humans were harmed; we actually walked past and stood next to quite a few before we were satisfied with our findings. When we returned to the apartment he was waiting for us. He wasn't hiding he was just standing in the middle of the living room. He caught our scent and decided to wait to quench his curiosity. He has actually been observing me and Bella for years."

"He knew about you in Phoenix?"

"Yeah he said that since he is so ancient his abilities have evolved. So he can sense others like him, sort of like we can sense other vampires. He searches for others like him and if he finds a strong enough pair he gives them the opportunity to change using his ability. He creates a situation which will open up a crossroad to a vampire life. So far Bella and I are the only ones who have survived the change together."

"That is impossible; I saw them set fire to his body." Eleazar said baffled.

"You believe it, no doubt, but if we are talking about the same Vampire . . . and we are. He is 'alive' and well. Actually he is deeply scarred and angry, but he doesn't wish to die. So in my book that screams well adjusted vamp."

"Why does he need Bella?"

"She is immune to most of their attacks. Janus is confident that he can protect her physically. He thinks his 'Twin' Tiber is still alive and being held captive. If he can get in he can use Bella's ability to free Tiber and his maker will be powerless to stop them."

"Tiber is dead. I saw him collapse and the guards ripped him apart." Carlisle said.

"Have you ever wondered if that was all just to set an example? They wanted them separated. They got what they wanted. No need to destroy an asset. Anyways, Bella and I told him we would not be able to help. He was disappointed, but he said he understood and he left. He was sincere at that point."

"Why didn't he want you? Don't you and Bella work better together?" Eleazar asked with an intense curiosity.

"We do, but if we were captured and they discovered what we are it would become a bad situation quickly. Bella would be able to block any important information she is hiding. I would give it all away in a touch. Separating us is the best way to maintain a stealth approach. Bella and I are still new and even though our control is strong, our humanity is still very fresh in our minds. It is sad that humanity would be a weakness. The way Bella's nature is if I were in trouble or a human she loves, she would lay down. I am sure they would try and succeed."

"So Janus is planning on using her because she won't talk if captured?"

"That is my best guess. He planned this after her left our apartment."

"Is this why you are hanging back, to be able to save her if she is in trouble?"

"Oh I am not hanging back; I am going to Volterra. I am just giving you the opportunity to come with me. When you saw her jump off the needle you made your decision. You are going to Volterra. I am not going to work against you and potentially make this mission harder than it needs to be. Bella wants us to get along. She wants to be part of your family; even remotely like the Denali coven, if we do not try to get along that will never happen."

"What better way to prove that to her than to save her together?" I finished

"You do have to go and be judged with Irina . . ." Jasper input.

"See perfect cover. As long as we don't touch Janus' maker he will not know what I am. We can be there just in case."

"That reminds me. Why do you and Bella have it in your minds that you made each other? It is impossible."

"It is the chicken and the egg dilemma I know, but I believe that it is true. The venom I received did not have an imprint since she was killed before I was "born" She infected Bella's blood inside me and mine of course. We were changed in that bite. The cut just let it spread to her body. We became equally responsible because the child maker bond reaches fruition at the birth."

"What did Janus tell you about the maker child bond that would keep him from harming Aro?" I asked.

"If his maker were to die it is a part of him essentially. It would almost kill him." Tristan said.

"Carlisle?" I asked hoping he would disprove Tristan.

"You need to be released from your bond to have a relationship like we do son. When I asked you to be part of a family I released you from that bond." He answered.

"Aro will never release anyone who is compelled to protect him. Your family protects each other out of love. A very rare quality in vampires." Eleazar said.

"Why did Bella decide to join him? Especially if she knows the leaders of the Volturi cannot be killed." Jasper asked.

"He told us that if his brother were freed that it would show weakness in the Volturi. There is an army waiting for such a weakness to be exposed. The twins would lead this army and take down the Volturi guard. Without the guard they have no power. Their greed will be their downfall. We would govern ourselves, no corrupt big brother looking over our shoulders. Bella and I would never be afraid of being hunted because of our bond. We do not belong on Aro's shelf."

"You do not believe in the rebellion?"

"I believe in it, but not enough to sacrifice half my soul to start it and the other half to end it." Tristan said with such conviction that it made me see him in a new light. "You have to agree with me on that Edward. Bella is too important to be used as a pawn in their war."

I looked into his thoughts and he was thinking about what he planned to do if Bella died. The pain and emptiness he would feel. His plan was to fight his way to whoever was responsible and kill them before killing himself. Then a vision of hell danced before his lids and his thoughts grew even more conflicted. Bella would go to heaven and vengeance would keep them apart. Suicide would end his afterlife with her.

Jasper's thoughts were uncomfortable.

_There is so much pain and sadness radiating from him. _

Alice entered the room with two tickets to Italy. She handed them to me and said, "You better hurry or you will miss your flight." I hugged my sister and thanked her. "Emmett is outside and he will drive you to the airport." Rosalie called from the next room.

I quickly went to each member of my family and said my goodbye. Who knows what kind of misadventure this would turn out to be? I wanted to make sure they would be okay. I would not just sneak off. Tanya came outside as we were leaving and tried to convince me to stay. I told her that I needed to protect my family and that included Irina. At that she let me go. She tried to kiss me but I leaned back and got in the car without a second thought.

"That one is ruthless" Tristan said and then switched to a more productive train of thought. Emmett wanted to join us, but I convinced him to go home and protect Rose then we were off to Italy.

I watched Tristan as he sat in a cramped plane with humans. He didn't seem the least bit jumpy or thirsty. He just had an intense emotional moment and now he is relaxed and surrounded by potential food.

"You okay Edward?" He asked me

"Yes, you just baffle me."

"It is all in your outlook. God doesn't give us more than we can handle. It is up to you how you handle situations."

"I don't think God gave this to us." I said icily

"You also didn't think that _we _have souls. Bella and I are direct conflicts with that train of thought."

"I never took you for the religious type."

"Every Sunday, plus major holidays." He smiled, but it only reflected on his mouth.

He began to laugh and he thought at me.

_It was my birthday couple days ago, so I decided to go to church and light a candle. I stepped up to the door and started testing the handle, nothing happened. So I jumped inside. Relieved that I didn't burst into flames and when I looked up there was another door! So I went through the whole testing thing again and when I was sure I wouldn't burst into flames I went to the confessional. I asked the priest if he sensed anything evil about me. He gave me a generic all of God's creatures are good. So I confessed my sins and he absolved me and prescribed some hail Marys. I stepped out feeling as though I still belonged. Now that I think about it, I wish I had your ability._

I laughed as I watched through his thoughts and how ridiculous he must have looked jumping in a church. Then I pictured myself confessing to a priest about some of my sins. Blood drinking, lying, stealing, murder . . . The guy would have a heart attack.

"What did you confess?"

"Pride and lying." He said casually.

"Are you going to continue going to church?" I asked.

He shook his head. "My lifestyle before I changed went against the bible's guidelines as it was. After I left Phoenix it was mainly for the comfort that there is something more out there. I am on an adventure. His presence is everywhere not just in a church."

He thought about memories from his life and his memories from the last few days and the clarity that comes from his afterlife is his proof of a higher being."You and Carlisle should sit down and have a talk. You both have interesting outlooks on our life."

"Well I will sit down with him _when _we all get back. You should hear Bella talk church. It is fun. I got Renee to go with me a few times and of course Bella would tag along. It always made for an interesting car ride back."

"Where were you the past year? I never even heard about you." I asked curious.

"Why would she talk about another guy when she is trying to get your attention? That is one of the biggest mistakes a person can make in modern dating. In Phoenix a lot of guys liked Bella, but I was always around and I think it was too much to have a girlfriend with a guy best friend."

He paused and then said, "When I left for college I was involved with a girl and my time was split really thin. I did email her periodically, but she was busy with you by then. Renee called me when you two broke up, she was worried about Bella. Charlie was going to send her to Jacksonville."

"You kept in touch with Renee and not Bella?"

"No, I called Renee to get Bella's number so I could see her for her birthday. Renee told me she would be busy with her boyfriend. Bella hates birthdays in general so I just let it lapse. She didn't need me to make things difficult when she was enjoying her first relationship. Plus I had just moved to Seattle after an intense break up. I was a mess."

"It might have been better if you had shown up."

**BPOV**

When I hit one of the beams I was surprised how easy this had been. In my human form I would have been on the sidewalk by now. I climbed into the hatch Janus had left ajar for me and ran down to street level. He was waiting with the bike ready for me.

"What a rush huh?" He said as he passed me a helmet.

"Amazing" was all I could say. I hopped onto the back of the bike and we sped away. I tried not to think about the hurt and confused looks I left at the top of the needle.

I looked up and saw them standing there as we drove away. We were in the private terminal of the airport before I knew it. Janus brought me my new identity for the trip.

"Lily White?" I said confused

"Yes, it seemed to fit you." He smiled as he handed me the rest of my paperwork.

"If you want to stay incognito why are we flying via private jet?"

"I don't like flying with humans, if I don't have to. There is a private strip located close to Volterra, by traveling under fictitious identities we will be under their radar."

"Fair enough."

We got onto the plane and took off shortly after. We stopped in New York to refuel then we were off to Italy. Janus was good to travel with. He didn't talk much and when he did it had a purpose. I wish I could sleep. My head was spinning with decisions I had left back home. I was also worried about Edward and Tristan being left together. Tristan and I have put the attraction talk on the back burner. Leaving that whole mess wide open. Edward has some possessive tendencies which will make it difficult. Their two personalities clash and Tristan loves a good fight. I thought about the space needle and how perfect that moment with my two favorite people was. No fighting just peace. The view was amazing.

"What has you so distracted Bella?"

I smiled at him, thinking how silly this would sound to an ancient being, "Boy troubles."

He returned my smile and chuckled. "If you don't mind some advice, I have seen that people need to believe what is in their gut. The man you love will want you in his arms the moment he sees you. He will be the one you embrace first."

It was so simple, but felt true.

We finally landed and we quickly got out of the blaring sun. The rays felt too warm against my skin. I put on some gloves before any humans could see and we drove to a nearby villa. Once we were inside Janus wasted no time and we planned our rescue mission.

He rolled out a map of the Volturi's underground city. There were endless tunnels and living quarters away from human eyes. He flipped between new plans and plans he drew from his memory. There was a room that was sealed over, in the deep east corner of the tunnels.

"How is that room able to hold him?"

"It is lined with silver."

My eyebrows pulled together and I pulled at a silver necklace I had around my neck giving him a WTF look.

"Yes but you have fed recently. He has been without for so many decades. They threw him in there in pieces. He has pulled himself together, but he is still fragile. He needs blood, and the silver is the purest they could find. In great quantities it weakens us."

"So how are we going to get in?"

"We will wait until it is full dark. Then they will have a guardian shift and tonight one of the female guards will have a tryst with Marcus who is newly single after the death of his wife. She happens to be guarding the corridor that leads to Tiber. If we are uninterrupted we will be in and out without detection. Then we will have time to get away before they realize the wall has been torn out."

"How do we get into the main building?"

"There is a party tonight for their human business partners." He smiled and spun me around. "I have the perfect outfit for you."

He walked me to a guest room and opened a huge walk in closet. Alice would completely flip if she saw this. He walked to a rack and pulled out a beautiful deep scarlet gown. He turned it so I could see the back. It had a deep cut, and a sweeping neckline with halter top. He left the room so I could get dressed. I put the dress on and stood in front of the mirror. The red of the dress complimented my still burning eyes. I turned and my alabaster skin made the dress look like blood. The cut stopped on the small of my back. Janus came in and placed a diamond necklace on me.

"It is too bad." He said sounding very disappointed.

"What is?" I was worried I had missed something.

"You look amazing in this dress, and it will most likely be ruined by the end of our journey." If I could blush I would have matched the dress. If I didn't know any better it was like he was flirting with me. Like I needed that problem on top of my oh so many boy issues. I relaxed and concentrated on our plan for the evening. I tucked my cell and some money into a garter and looked myself over in the mirror.

At full dark I put in a pair of contacts and we left for the event and arrived at a downtown office building. We stepped into the main room and quickly made our way to the dance floor waiting for the guardian switch. Janus was using me to shield his mind as well as his face from familiar vamps. He would kiss my cheek or spin me around and it would keep him out of view. I was trying to keep calm, but I think I was having fun also. The mixture of danger and adventure excited me. We twirled with the other couples and made sure to keep a close proximity to the door that would lead us down to the tunnels. We danced until a big announcement was made and Janus pulled me close to him. He whispered in my ear. "You are doing wonderful, now just be responsive and we will stumble into the stairway. Count to three."

He nuzzled my neck and I giggled. The very few people whose interest we caught just looked away politely which gave us the cover we needed. His cool breath was on my neck along with his lips. I reached three and pulled him into the stairwell by tugging playfully at his tuxedo.

As we closed the doors I saw both Edward and Tristan staring at us. _What are they doing here? _


	19. Strawberry Shortcake is Ruthless

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

**EPOV**

We touched down in Milan and rented a car to take us to Volterra. The sun was going to set in the next hour, but we needed to get a plan together. Tristan was busy searching for information in his phone when the driver asked us, "Are you in town for the big party?"

"Excuse me?" I said trying to fish around in his head for more information.

"In Volterra, there is a big party tonight."

_A corporate party and many business men were showing up today. _He thought about the building and I recognized it as the street level entrance to the Volturi headquarters.

"Yes, my business partner and I were issued a last minute invite. We do need to book a room, where are the others staying?"

"At the Ruby Palace. I will take you there."

Tristan looked up at me with a questioning look. _What have you guys been talking about? I do not speak Italian._

"The driver was telling me he knows where the other party guests are staying. We will have a room to clean up before the company function tonight."

I placed my emphasis so he knew that is where we would be able to get a better look at the Volturi and possibly Bella.

When we stepped into the small city we checked into the hotel under my name and I searched for other guests. There were two who sounded like they lost their battle with jet lag. I snuck into their room and stole two of the invitations they carried. I brought it back to our room and handed them to Tristan. We were dressed and ready to go in no time. There was a tailor and we were able to get appropriate attire for the event.

We entered the party and surveyed the guests. The women were in ball gowns and most had a red scarf or accessory which was customary in this city. I heard Tristan emit a small growl and I followed his gaze.

_This guy is having a little too much fun …_

It was Bella and she was being twirled around the dance floor by a tall ancient vamp. I was not able to see his face clearly, but Tristan's thoughts confirmed that it was Janus. I scanned the room for other thoughts and tried to sift the human from vampire. No one noticed them. A few human males noticed Bella, but they didn't notice him. The music cut and an announcement was made. The few men who had been watching Bella had stopped to pay attention, all but Tristan and me. Janus whispered into her hair and then began kissing her neck. She just smiled and giggled, like they were lovers. This was torture.

_There had to be another way to sneak off without suspicion. This guy has been lusting after her since he saw her. If he hurts her . . ._

I put my hand on his shoulder and he stopped that train of thought. A few seconds later they made their move. Bella pulled Janus through a door and our eyes met. We made our way towards the door. She kept her composure, but made a slight shake of her head.

_Don't follow me . . ._ It came from Tristan's mind, but it was her voice.

"What was that?"

"_He_ taught her that. It makes her voice carry without touching. We can only manage a few words right now."

"Edward?" A small female voice said. I turned to see Irina. Tristan pretended not to be with me and disappeared into the crowd.

"What are you doing here Edward?"

"Alice" I said simply. Her eyes were full of pain.

"I haven't asked them yet, but they know I am here. They have summoned me."

"I am sorry for the pain I have caused you. He was not worth the danger of this situation."

"To me, he was Edward, he was . . ." He tone was unreadable, but her mind was not.

_I will __not__ live without him . . . they __will__ grant my request._

I saw Tristan reach for his cell phone and quickly dash out of the room and I followed without looking back at her.

**BPOV**

They started toward the door and I shook my head ever so slightly and closed the door. As soon as the door closed we broke apart and were focused on our task. Janus opened a grate that led to a staircase and took a moment to search with his ability.

He nodded at me and I jumped down into the grate and we ran through the maze of tunnels and waited as we watched Marcus and his guard pass us. They were both in formal wear and you could tell they were going somewhere more private. Marcus was whispering in her ear and she could barely contain herself as they kissed and groped through the dark hallway.

Once they passed we made our way in the shadows to the end of the hall and stood before a bricked wall. Janus used his finger to scrape at the grout revealing silver underneath. Janus pulled out a small drill and he grabbed my necklace. He popped out the biggest diamond and it became the bit for the drill. He cut the grout around a square of bricks and we pulled the wall down as quickly and quietly as possible.

We made it to a silver door and examined the hinges. He knocked the pin from them and the door fell out of its frame. The room was dark and the air was thick as if it had solidified over the decades. I heard a low growl come from the room.

Before I could react I was pushed into the wall behind us and Janus was on top of Tiber. He was a big man who looked as though he belonged on a battlefield. His eyes were no longer human. They belonged to a wild animal. They were such a deep shade of black it shook me to my core. His white skin looked so delicate, as if a strong breeze would rip right through.

He looked up at me and I knew he could smell my blood. The blood saturating my new vampire muscles, and I knew I had just helped to free a monster. I never thought about how dangerous this mission was until this moment. I thought about the chance of being caught, but never the chance of being killed by the vamps on my team.

Tiber's struggling ceased and Janus helped him stand. We heard a noise coming down to the level we were on.

"Janus we must go now!" I pleaded

Janus pulled Tiber up and we ran to the end of the hall. Tiber was sniffing the air like a wild animal.

"We need to separate. Bella go back to the villa and we will meet you after Tiber has fed." He kissed the top of my head "Thank You!" and pushed me into an empty room and they made so much noise going up the stairs that I became scared. I tried to keep calm and I looked at my dress the bottom was tattered and torn. I ripped it and now the gown was more of a cocktail dress. Not the dress code, but if I had to escape through the party I would still be presentable. I continued to hide in one of the bedrooms and waited for a few moments before going back out into the hall. I reached down to my garter and pulled out my cell. I dialed Tristan's number and he picked up on the first ring.

"What are you doing here? Are you mental?" I asked

"What are you doing Bella? You are supposed to be keeping a low profile not showing up to a party!" He must have been walking outside because the background noise began to disappear.

"I need to get out of here. I am stuck in the basement."

"I am coming to get you."

"No, I am going to try and make it to the staircase. You can meet me outside. We cannot be here!"

I ran down the hall and run up the staircase to the street level. I calmed myself and walked outside. I walked down the block and hailed a cab. Edward and Tristan caught up to me and we slid into the cab as though we had been waiting together. I gave him an address in a village a few miles from the Villa. We all sat silent. Tristan grabbed my hand and we tried to figure things out.

_I am so relieved. I thought you were going to be caught. They sounded an alarm not too long after you called me._

Do you know if they caught anyone?

_No, but I haven't seen Janus_

He took Tiber to feed . . . They threw his ripped up pieces into a room and sealed him in for 100 years. No blood. He attacked me!

The cab stopped and we ran through the woods stopping to assess the villa for potential danger. Once inside I was able to relax a little.

"Bella get your things we need to leave." Edward said.

"I have to wait for Janus!" I protested

"No, you did your part. You concealed him and now his brother is loose on the innocent people of Volterra!" Tristan yelled at me.

"Back Off! What was I supposed to do?" My guilt was consuming me, but his accusation cut through and triggered my anger.

Tristan pulled me to him, "I thought I was going to lose you!"

He held me and crushed me to his chest. There was so much emotion, but mainly fear and pain. "I am sorry; I just needed to help him. I am so sorry." I pleaded as I returned his embrace with as much of the same emotions as I had in me.

I pulled away suddenly aware that we were not the only two in the room. Edward's eyes were full of worry. I let go of Tristan and asked Edward, "Why are you here?"

**EPOV**

"Why are you here?" She asked me as if this were the first moment she was actually seeing me.

I tried to read her expression and it was one of guilt and anxiety.

"I came here to ensure your safety." I tried to keep calm but I just wanted to wrap her up in my arms and kiss her. Just celebrate the fact that she was safe.

"It is too dangerous for you two." She said splitting attention between the two of us. "If Aro finds either of you he will be able to hurt all of us!"

"If we lose you it will hurt all of us." I countered.

She focused on my eyes and she was wearing her I am not worthy face. "You are . . ." I breathed.

"Fine, we should get out of here then. Janus and Tiber will find me if they need to."

"I have to stay, but I will send you and Tristan home."

"What? No!" Tristan protested "you are not going to that trial alone."

"Trial? What have I missed?"

"Irina has called on the Volturi to decide on my punishment for killing her mate."

"He was going to kill me! You needed to protect me."

"You are not my mate Bella. There are rules to this life remember?"

"If you go and they decide to touch you they will know everything."

"Yes, but at least you will be safe and Tristan will be there to protect you."

"What is the penalty for killing Laurent?"

"They will lock me up for a few years. I will be fine."

_Tell her the truth or I will . . . _Tristan thought at me.

"They may not even hear the case if they find it wastes their time." I continued.

_I will not warn you again. . ._

"Irina is thinking of asking for them to kill her instead of a trial."

"We cannot let that happen! She is part of your family."

_That little witch is planning on asking for Bella's head. She will not stop, until she has vengeance. She wants to die, but she wants to take Bella with her! You are not getting the summons, Bella is!_

I turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"That girl you were talking to was lying to you. She wants Bella to be punished. Jasper thought that by Irina coming here you would be summoned. That is why we came, but Irina is asking for Bella to be summoned. She was surprised to see you."

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"That is the truth of the situation and from Strawberry Shortcake when I saw you two in the garage. I didn't understand what I was hearing and I was more interested in Bella's whereabouts at the time. When we were leaving Forks I realized it was her idea to get Bella on the stand because she is infatuated with you; if anything happened to Bella then she would not need to compete. Whatever the outcome it would keep you away from the Volturi."

"That's why you called her ruthless in the car on the way to the airport . . ."

"The first day I thought she meant metaphorically taking Bella out of the picture."

"Well that settles it then!" Bella said sounding almost cheerful.

"We just got you out of there!" Tristan said.

"Yeah, you got Lily White +1 out of there. Not Isabella Swan. I will be fine as long as I don't let my shield down. Plus Edward will have to come with me now that Irina knows he is here. If I shield both of us, what can they actually do?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Tristan demanded.

"Keep your mind open and work as back up. When we are absolved we will go home together." She smiled as she said this.

"You think it will be that easy Bella?" I asked her.

"It is all in the outlook Edward." Tristan answered for her.

. . .

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**(A/N: More to come! Please take a look at the poll on my profile. I have a lot of requests for Bella's ultimate love interest and I want to make sure your input is being heard.)**


	20. Under a killing moon

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

**EPOV**

I called Alice and she confirmed what Tristan had told me. Tanya and her family had left as soon as Tristan and I had. Tanya knew what she did was wrong. I couldn't believe family would do this to me. Bella summoned in front of the Volturi? This was my nightmare since I found out what she was.

Bella came into the room and sat on the bed next to me. She just got out of the shower and her hair had a slight strawberry smell on it. She looked more comfortable in her outfit now.

"You smell wonderful."

"I bet any of us do. You know without the whole smelling like food thing."

"It goes beyond that." I waited for a blush, but her skin was still its perfect ivory.

"Thank You" she said quietly.

"Where is Tristan?" I asked her.

"He is looking over the layouts that Janus put together. He likes to be prepared . . ."

"Do you feel prepared?"

"No, but I am sure it will work out. You have always managed to keep us out of danger."

I laughed at how untrue that statement was. She had been in more danger knowing me than in the 17 years without me.

"It's nice to hear you laugh. It has been a while." She smiled at me.

"Yeah, well I haven't had much to be happy about lately."

"Don't worry that will all change soon. We will get you back to your life soon."

Back to my life. That statement reminded me that she was planning to leave. She was going to start her own life and it would be without me. I was hurt and jealous angry and so many other emotions that I didn't hold back the venom when I asked her."Why did you come here Bella? Why didn't you come to see me instead?"

"What did Tristan tell you?" She sounded calm but confused.

"He said that you and he were about to skip town and that you were coming to talk to me." My anger was building up but I still had it under control.

"I guess I have become a better liar in my afterlife."

"Well I hope so, because what we saw last night was nothing like the Bella I know." The venom flowed freely in that comment. I was too hurt to care . . .

Her expression and a low growl from the living room let me know I had struck a nerve."Tristan . . . I'll handle it." She whispered more like it was an edict than a simple comment.

_Edward, you better watch your damn mouth. What is your problem?_ Tristan's thoughts were full of anger.

She began to explain and I tuned him out. "I only said all that so I could catch up with Janus. I felt like I needed to help with this. In my life I was not able to accomplish all the things I had planned and I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. I thought about being separated from my 'twin' and I understood the pain and anger that radiates from him. What you saw last night was nothing. It was a distraction."

She explained it to me as if I was a child. I was acting like a child. These new emotions had taken over and reduced me to the 17 year old child I was when I was changed. I instantly felt embarrassed and decided to apologize. She was not mine, I had no right . . .

"I'm sorry. I had no right to snap at you like that. You don't owe me any explaination."

"I don't owe you an explaination, but I know you want one." Her eyes reflected the guilt I made her feel. That look made me sick to my stomach. I caused that.

"Why didn't you come to see me?" I asked again with a proper tone this time.

"I couldn't, I got very close to it. I was actually on your stoop, but I turned and left."

"Why?"

"We are in such a hard place right now and I didn't know how to say goodbye. We **had** such an intense . . . relationship."

Her face when she said "had" was pained. I needed to let her know I still wanted her, who am I kidding, need her. I dropped any hostility and anger I felt and tried to lighten her mood.

"Have" I corrected hopefully.

She looked at me with a cautious look then repeated, "Have" with the smallest of smiles pulling the corners of her mouth. She was so lovely and I could not help but touch her. I grabbed her up in a big hug. She hugged me back, but it looked as if she had a comment on the tip of her tongue. "What is it?"

"It is just odd; your mood swings still giving me whiplash. You have been so distant. Now you are really affectionate."

"I don't have to worry about breaking you now." I said flashing her the smile that makes her look at me with pure love in her eyes. I was expecting the look, but instead she shifted as if she were uncomfortable. "Well let's go and join Tristan so we can be prepared for tomorrow."

_Yeah, remember me? _ He thought to himself. He was still upset at me for my outburst, but I honestly did not need to fight with him right now and left his anger unacknowledged.

"Fine, it sounds as if he is getting lonely out there." I said holding the emotion close and out of my tone.

She gave me a disapproving look then raised her shields and I heard absolutely nothing.

"Okay well from what I can see this is the room where you will be held. I think this is the closest I can get without being detected. That is about 1000 ft away." Tristan said focusing on the task at hand.

"Okay let's test the distance." Bella said with her new voice.

Tristan ran into the woods and Bella concentrated.

"Marco!" She whispered

"Polo!" we heard after a while.

He ran back and my phone rang.

"Edward, it's time. They are going to send Demetri to track you. Irina has alerted them to your presence."

"Thank you Alice. We will head into the city now."

"Be safe and bring our new siblings home safe."

"I will Alice. Give everyone my love . . ."

I turned to Bella. "Are you ready, love?"

"Can I have a moment with Tristan before we go?"

She did not look at me when she said this. Tristan's face was full of worry and something I could not read. She looked into my eyes and said, "Edward?"

I just nodded and gave them privacy. They weren't speaking out loud, but they did not need to. I took an un-needed deep breath and sat in a tree outside the Villa. I tried to keep my mind on the upcoming task, but the visions in my head of Bella in the arms of other men were slowly penetrating my resolve.

After a long time I felt her land on the branch next to me. She was focused and ready to go. She put her hands on my shoulders and gave me a little nudge in the direction of the city. She smelled like him and it made my eternally still heart sink into my dead chest.

_Your imagination is your worst enemy Edward._ "_Without trust, there can be no love. Jealousy, yes, jealousy will drive you mad." Keep your mind to the mission. Keep Bella Alive._

Tristan's mind yelled at me and he stared out at us from the window. I nodded at him and realized that he was on my team. I needed to keep her alive for my sake as much as hers. Bella began running and I tried my best to keep pace. We reached the outskirts and were met by two figures cloaked in black hoods.

"Isabella and Edward please follow us"

We stayed silent and followed them underneath the city. They led us to a room with a long silver cage in the middle. Irina was on one side of the cage and Aro spoke to us.

"Edward it is so nice to finally meet you, although I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. I was not expecting one of Carlisle's children to stand in my council's chamber."

"I was also hoping to meet under better circumstances, Carlisle holds you all in the highest regard."

"I assume this is your mate?" He looked over at Bella and smiled. She kept her gaze steady.

"She is not his mate Aro. She has found another." Irina said cattily "That is why I have asked that she be summoned to appear before the council."

"What crime are you accusing her of?"

"She manipulated my cousin Edward into killing 3 vampires. She is ultimately responsible for their deaths."

"Isabella would you please step into the center?" Aro gestured to the cage.

"I would like to be judged in her place." I spoke up

"Edward, no. Please let me do this." She gave me a loving look. It nearly broke me, but I ignored her and Aro looked amused. "What can you tell me that will clear Isabella of these charges?"

"It is true that I killed 3 vampires. I killed them to protect my family, not because of any outside influence. I was trying to protect Isabella yes, but also the rest of my family from exposure. James did not hunt Isabella to satisfy his thirst, but as a game. Laurent was sent to kill her for revenge, but decided to act on his bloodlust after I had put my claim on her blood. Victoria's rage should have been directed at me, but she chose Isabella to avenge the death of her mate. She and I fought and she fell. It was even."

"She was a human when this happened?

"Yes"

"Isabella, do you know our rules about murder within our species?"

"No, sir."

"You may kill another only in your own defense or the defense of your mate. Were you his mate when he killed these vampires?"

"We love each other and he only killed to protect those he loves."

"That is not what I asked you Isabella."

"Only with James." She conceded.

"Edward, this information coupled with my inability to hear you does not make you appear innocent. If what you say is true then you must let me hear it from the one place you cannot hide." He stuck out his hand and I complied.

Aro looked puzzled. "Why can I not hear you?" His gaze turned to Bella. She remained behind her poker face. "Come here child." He motioned for her to place her hand on his. She obeyed, but still nothing.

"If I am not able to hear testimony than I am forced to have you settle this in a different way."

He guided her to the cage and she stepped inside with no fear visible on her angelic face. As I watched her I heard two guards approach. Aro took the hands of Marcus and Caius. They decided that the best way to settle this matter was a fight to the death. I twitched at their thoughts and was about to interrupt when Bella's gaze stopped me. She looked at the east wall and then back to my eyes slowly. If I interrupted Tristan would come in a ruin the plan. So far it sounds as though she would have a chance, but would she still think so if she finds out what they are planning?

"Irina you have sought out our wisdom in order to find proper justice for your grievance against Miss Swan. We see her as part of your family and have decided that you will have the opportunity to right the wrong yourself. Only one of you will leave this cage. After that there will be no more bloodshed. The survivor will go home to your family with no target on their back."

Irina smiled and I could tell she was out for blood.

"I will not fight her."

"Well how about Edward? Would you rather fight Edward?"

"I will not strike a member of my family."

"You and I will never be family." Irina hissed as she sprang for Bella.

Bella threw Irina off of her and 4 guards quickly restrained me and I was escorted away from the fight.

"Marcus, please make sure the survivor is released after their victory." Aro threw a match and a huge flame appeared in the middle of the cage match.

He followed us down the hall as I thrashed and tried to break free. I felt someone trying to use their ability against me, but Bella was somehow still shielding me. They threw me into a room and Aro stepped in and excused the guards. All but his personal body guard.

"Edward, last night something was stolen from me. Something very important. Right as an alarm sounded you disappeared from the party. Which I do not remember sending you an invitation for. Now I find myself unable to read you. It all looks very bad."

"Aro, I have not stolen from you."

"You know who has. Jane dear, please come in here and ask Edward in your sweet way for the information I seek."

Jane smiled her evil little smile and intense pain rushed through my body. The room was lined in silver and Bella's shield was not able to reach me. Or she was in trouble. Either way I had to maintain my calm or Aro would realize all his answers were a touch away.

"Call me my dear when he gives you something we can use."

"Yes, master." She smiled sweetly at me and continued her gaze asking every few minutes if I was ready to answer her master's questions. The pain was excruciating but I could not give in.

"Are you ready to talk Eddie?" Her voice was a clear as a bell and childlike, but her eyes showed a ruthless killer.

I was gasping as my muscles finally relaxed. I looked into her smiling eyes. "I did not steal from your master."

Suddenly the door was flung open and two guards were thrown into the room. "I stole from your master!" Tristan yelled as he grabbed Jane from behind. He placed his teeth on her neck. "I will bite down if you try your little parlor trick sweetheart."

"You will not escape with your lives!" She hissed through her teeth.

"Edward, get up and let's go." He yelled

I ran towards Jane and slashed her neck. Her head rolled and Tristan gave me a look of shock.

"What the hell man?"

"The second your teeth left her neck you would have been on your ass."

"Where is Bella?"

"She is down the hall fighting Irina."

"No she is not. I just came from that room . . ."

**BPOV**

Irina leapt at me from her corner of the cage and I was able to grab her neck before her teeth found mine. I used my new found strength and threw her across the massive cage. A flame sparked up lighting a pit in the middle. Edward was being escorted out of the room and I was not sure how much longer I could hold this shield.

"Tristan follow Edward . . ." I sent out as strong as I could.

Irina began to circle the cage and I mirrored her actions trying to keep us apart. Suddenly I felt alone under my shield. No Edward and most noticeably no Tristan.

"Your actions led to the death of my lover. You will pay for this in blood."

"Irina, your anger has clouded your judgment. We are family you need to stop this!"

"Either you or I or both must join him"

She lunged at me and ducked out of the way turning and protecting my back from her advances. I needed to find a way out of this cage, but Marcus' smug expression let me know that even if I succeeded in breaking free from the cage I would still need to go through him.

"Edward does have other options for happiness. Tanya is very willing to keep him company and help him forget that ungrateful human pet of his." She spat the word pet at me. It struck a nerve. I was getting increasingly angry, but I knew I could not bring myself to kill anyone.

I lunged at her and her nails dug into my shoulder and I heard a horrible ripping noise. A huge gash left my shoulder exposed and traces of my human blood trickled from the wound.

"Isabella, after your antics here last night I was hoping for so much more. Especially where your dear Edward is concerned. If you refuse to end this I am certain he will be found guilty for a certain guerilla rescue mission and be killed."

I kept my eyes fixed on Irina, but answered him "Why don't you just tell them if you know what happened?"

"I have my reasons Isabella, but if you are dead it puts a damper on my plans. I suggest you fight to survive this or I will have to rule against Edward when he goes on trial."

"That goes against the terms which have landed me in this situation."

"Tick Tock Isabella, Irina looks thirsty."

Irina had been pouncing around me like a wild animal and Marcus' comments had tipped my control. I grabbed her and let her fly into my body.

"Give up or else Irina!"

"I will not stop until your dead heart burns in that fire bitch!"

I used my strength and pulled her neck and body in different directions. It sounded like the van crashing into my truck. It was loud and horrible and the last thing I heard. Irina stopped moving. All sound rushed from the room. All color. I looked down in my hands and saw the most terrible sight. I killed.

Marcus entered the cage but I didn't even bother to cover my back from him. He put his hand on my shoulder and guided me to the fire. I threw her head and watched it burn. No emotion. For the first time I felt entirely empty. There was no pain, no emotion. Just space.

I vaguely remember leaving the room, but nothing specific. My body moved independent from my will and lack of thoughts. I was a zombie.

I am a murderer.

**EPOV**

We got to the room and it lay empty. Irina's body was burning in the fire in the middle of the cage. We ran through the tunnels and out onto the street level. We almost made it to the Villa when we ran into a familiar face. Janus.

"Follow me and do not veer from my trail" We ran after him stepping where he did. He led us through the woods to a cave hundreds of miles away from the city. We stepped into the cave and saw 25 vampires all on pins and needles waiting to attack.

Tristan pushed Janus once we got into the cave. "Where is she? Where have they taken her?"

I stepped between Tiber and the fight. And Janus, with a wave of his hand, stopped any of the other vamps from touching us.

"Calm down brother. He is worried about his twin." He told Tiber as he growled in front of me.

"We have not found Isabella. She has not left their compound."

Tristan paced and smashed a dent into the cave wall.

_Fuck! I was supposed to be watching her! Why did I listen to her? I should have stuck to the plan. Edward would have lasted a couple more hits from Blondie. I could have saved both!_

He was enraged and I could tell that he was not used to being so out of control.

"Tristan, calm down. We can get her back."

"No! You don't understand this is not how he wanted it to play out. Her little mission with the double-mint twins over there exposed her to them! Marcus recognizes her scent. He wants to use her to get to Aro. Aro killed his wife!"

The thoughts in the cave were getting excited knowing from his words that the time had come to attack. A damsel in distress was just an added bonus to these warriors. Tiber was worried about the strain to Janus if Aro were killed.

"Tristan, I understand your fear and anger. I have been in your place before. Isabella helped me find my half and I will get yours back to you." Janus said in a strong Alpha voice. "Will you join us?"


	21. Blessed Be

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

**EPOV**

Janus looked at Tristan knowing that his anger would push him into their war. Knowing how the bond made it imperative to keep Bella safe. Tristan was worried. He never wanted to be part of this, but they were the ones who would save Bella.

I grabbed his shoulders and pushed him out behind the cave so I could talk some sense into him before he pledged himself to someone else's cause.

"You don't have to do this. We can find Bella on our own."

He thought about it and impressively ran through different scenarios of how things could turn out. The most successful involved the militia in the cave.

"Bella wants this. She wants a 'normal' life. I will get it for her. She has filled any need or want I have ever had. She deserves this Edward."

"Do you think you can do this? Kill I mean . . ."

"I never have, but if that is what it takes for our freedom, yes. I have seen the evil they hide under their regal exteriors. I don't want that anywhere near my Isabella."

"Your Isabella . . ." My thoughts were so torn. I am trying to save this guy, but he is taking away my love.

He knew what I was thinking. He argued internally for a sec then decided to be direct_. He wants to be friends?_

"Edward, Bella wanted to talk to you about this, but we need to be on the same page. I want to talk to you about me and Bella."

"No, I do not want to talk about this right now. I can't"

"Shut up and just listen. I saved you, you owe me."

I sat there quiet dreading the words that would spill from his mouth.

"First of all you have made our relationship worse for yourself with your jealousy. You interpreted the images in the woods the way you wanted."

"How else was I supposed to interpret them? You were quite selective when showing me about Bella."

Yes I made implications but there were only two kisses between the two of us that were more than friendly. The rest of what I showed you was innocent."

"Okay what were your motives then? It sure as hell did not look like you acting as a brotherly protector."

"I have always protected her and loved her as my best friend. Lately we have had an undeniable attraction to one another, but it is nothing more than a physical thing."

Why was he doing this? I owed him but not this much. I prepped myself to stand and get away but he pulled me down next to him. He stared into my eyes and continued.

"Jesus Cristo, you are as old fashioned as she said. You need to adapt to this century my friend. You have watched people change first hand. Embrace it!"

He gave me an exasperated look. Then continued, "That being said, we have decided to remain friends and not take it to the next level. Our bond is stronger than teenage hormones. She is my twin which makes her part of me. I will always love her. I will always be protective of her. BUT we have decided that we are best suited to be family not lovers."

"What?" That was not the talk I was expecting to hear . . .

"Today she let down her shield and I asked her what her heart wanted. She still loves you. I was relieved actually. Since we were changed little by little I start seeing that young girl I met so many years ago. I need to be her friend; nothing more or it will complicate everything." He paused as he waited for a reaction from me. "I know you love her too. Why aren't you jumping around? Or . . ."

"Why didn't she say anything?" I cut him off.

"She planned on discussing this with me on the needle, but I brought you and she took it as fate interrupting. She decided to go to Italy and talk about it if she returned. Then today she gave me this to give to you."

He held up an envelope with Edward written in a neat version of Bella's writing. I reached for it, but he moved it out of my reach. "If she died . . ."

"Do you know what is in it?"

"Yes, I was there when she wrote it. That is why she wanted you to leave us alone. She wanted to say goodbye without you there."

"She was so confident that we were coming back though."

He pointed to himself. "I told you about it being a catching emotion."  
"So are you going to let me read it?"

"Nope" He popped the P and stood up. "You can have it if I fail. I need to find Janus. You need to find Bella and get her home."

He stood up slowly and paced. I could see the thoughts in his mind switching from negative to positive. He thought about Bella and their journey. The day they met, the first night he crawled into her window. The only girl who had ever seen him cry. So many memories. Through these memories I felt I knew Tristan. I saw Bella more clearly. All those questions that haunted me in Forks about why she moved the way she did or answered questions the way she did. All answered in this one montage.

**(A/N: I am thinking about expanding this ^ into a one shot . . . What do you think?)**

He looked at me realizing his thoughts were not his own anymore and turned into his cocky self, "Now will you stop sending your voodoo vibes at me every time I touch her?"

"Depends on what you are thinking when you do . . ." I returned his cocky smile.

"Well that is a start I guess." He turned and sprinted to the warrior cave.

**BPOV**

The sky turned from pink to black before I was back in my own head. I was not alone in this room. My shoulder had been cauterized and closed.

"I see you have finally come back to me." I turned to see Marcus standing next to me. "Your gift is very unique young one."

"I don't know what you are referring to." I was careful to keep my secrets close.

"Please, Isabella, we both want the same thing."

"What would that be?"

"Freedom and power."

"I do not wish to have power, just freedom." I sounded like a zombie.

"If you help me gain power over Aro then you shall have your freedom."

"Revenge will not bring your wife back Marcus."

"It will help heal the wounds" he hissed.

"What do you need from me?"

"I just need cover. Then you can have complete power over your life. Total freedom."

"For my family. . ."

"Your entire coven." His eyes burned with vengeance and pain. I looked into them and was not sure if such passionate emotion was a good sign at this point.

I tried to think of what this would mean. It was tantamount to a deal with the devil. Who was to say that Marcus ruling the Volturi would be much better? What made me think he would stick to his promises after he had all the power. If he knew about me then he could find a way to use me.

"My brothers share a set of your kind. They were torn apart by their desire for the whole set. Caius tried playing it safe by entombing his half in the basement. Aro is using Janus' weakness for his brother to kill Caius. Once Caius is dead Aro will offer his bond to Tiber and if he accepts to keep his life then Aro will own a complete set and have too much power. Think of the team Jane, Demitri, Janus and Tiber would make. No army could stand up to them. If we work together I could kill Aro before anything happens; leaving just you and your 'twin' roaming free."

"You are asking me to help you kill the only others of 'my kind' as you put it. If you succeed in killing Aro and Caius then they will fall as well. They are part of the family I mentioned earlier."

"You are a maker are you not? Offer them your bond."

"No person deserves to be bound to another."

"Your humanity will hold you back in this life. We are vampire not human. We survive because of our bonds. Your family is held to their maker; I was held to mine and you are held to yours."

"I have no maker bond."

"Well you are owned by your emotions then. You and Edward have a strong relationship that I can see despite your shield; which is the reason I allowed him to escape. A show of good faith."

"Since I survived the cage I am free to leave as well. Are you going to stand in my way?"

"No I am merely asking for your help. If you refuse I am unable to stop you." He motioned to the door.

I stepped forward and when I got to the door I met no resistance. "How long do you need cover?" I asked without looking at him.

"Not long. You will be back in your lover's arms before dawn." I heard the smile in his voice.

"At dawn I will leave this place; never to be bothered again, no matter the outcome." I kept my voice powerful and final.

He did a dramatic bow. "You have my word."

He brought me to his room and we discussed the plan.

"Aro wanted me to talk to you when you won the match. He would like you to join us. Not as a member of the guard, but as part of the royal family. Irina's mind showed us information of Eleazar's prediction for your power. Aro was pleased when he realized that it was true. He has a body guard with a similar gift, but yours is stronger and can block more. None of the abilities we used on you during this morning's trial worked."

"I felt them trying, but I am able to easily ignore them."

"Aro thinks that if you are our newest princess our family will be safe from all attack. He was impressed with the way you kept him out of Edward's head earlier."

"Princess?"

"Don't let the title romance you. It is not glamorous to serve under this king. It is slavery with a better cell."

"Then why do you stay?"

"I feel an uncontrollable loyalty to them."

"So what do you need from me. I need you to get Aro to try and convince you to stay. That way he will not be suspicious of my plans. He will assume you are blocking us. He will insist I leave. You just need to make sure I am blocked and not fall for his promises of power."

"What if he finds out what I am doing? Who will protect me?"

"I never said that you would be safe. The greater the risk the greater the reward."

We left the small room and ventured down the dark hallway. Aro was in his chamber when Marcus stopped us and went inside alone.

"Janus appears to be staying in the area longer than I anticipated." I heard Aro's voice carry through the hall.

"What are his plans?"

"I have not yet summoned him to find out. How is Isabella doing?"

"Her shoulder has been mended and she wishes to leave the grounds."

"Have you made her an offer to join us?"

"Yes, and she wishes time to decide."

"What is to decide? She would be a perfect princess. She is beautiful, deadly and useful. She would go from a newborn to royalty and she must think?"

"She does have strong ties to her coven Aro."

"You sense her ties?"

"Yes, she has a strong connection to Carlisle's son Edward."

"He would be a great addition to our family as well. I am sure if we put Isabella on our thrown it would entice him to join us."

"I have brought her to you so maybe you could convince her Aro."

"Isabella come in dear."

I took an un-needed breath and stepped inside Aro's quarters. He stared at me long and hard; His deep scarlet eyes burning a hole into mine while I waited for him to speak. I made sure that my shield was thick around Marcus and myself. Aro extended his hand and I took it. He closed his eyes and his eyelids were moving as if he were speed reading beneath them.

"Most extraordinary."

He kissed my hand and released it back to me.

"So, Marcus tells me that you have some reservations about my offer."

"Yes, I am still adjusting to my afterlife. I would like some time with my family to explore my options."

"Did he explain to you what a great honor it is to hold a place on our thrown?"

"Not in length . . ."

"Marcus, why don't you check with Caius and see if we have had any luck finding the intruders from earlier. I will attend to Isabella's concerns"

Marcus stepped into the doorway and I saw a smile spread across his face. I followed his progress through the castle as Aro tried to convince me that my family was standing in front of me. I felt tiny vibrations through my shield as different people surrounded Marcus. Then I felt a very strong familiar vibe. Tristan! I couldn't help but let a smile play on my face. He was alright, then I felt Edward and I shielded them both. I was finding it difficult to pay attention to my conversation while I was so excited that they were alive. Suddenly an alarm began to sound and saved me.

"What is going on Aro?" I said with all the innocence I could muster up.

"Excuse me my dear. I will go and check. I would prefer if you would wait in the small room where you recovered."

"May I not leave?"

"If the compound has intruders it would not be safe for you."

He wasn't stupid and as stunning as I might be now I knew I was not going to be able to charm my way out of being locked in that small room again.

"I really would not like to be alone. May I come with you Aro?" A hint of desperation in my voice now.

"I'm afraid not." All sweetness was gone from his voice. We dropped the game we had been playing and he led me to the room and locked the door after I was securely inside. I managed to stay calm and I sent out to search for Tristan. He was actually moving away from me. Edward was close, but on another level in this maze. Marcus . . . was missing . . . I searched and found a small trace. He was near Tristan. I sent my voice to tell them where I was.

"Basement, third corridor, Bella"

No one's course changed. I just kept the shield up as I looked for a way out. I broke the lock on the door and poked my head out into the hall. It was empty, but I was not sure how long it would be. I closed the door behind me and made my way to the closest person in my shield. I heard loud screams coming from the stairways that I knew led to the surface. I searched my memory of the map Janus had drawn. I followed my memory to a false wall and used my strength to break through. I heard people running down the staircase and I hid in the small room that was my prison. They ran right past my room and into the hole in the wall I made to the passage way. I knew it led to nowhere now, but they obviously did not. I ran to the stairs and didn't stop till I sensed Edward.

He saw me first and grabbed me up into his arms. I looked in his eyes and knew I had made the right decision. He kissed me and it was like my heart beat again. His lips were no longer cold they matched mine. We were finally worthy of each other in every sense. I felt his tongue graze against my bottom lip and I deepened our kiss. We held each other so close and it was as though something clicked. We were pieces that fit together finally. It all made sense. Tristan and I were the same shape Edward and I were a match. He pulled away and it felt like the world came rushing back in a hurry.

"I love you." I said in a breathless rush. "I know" he said and smiled. He pulled me towards a grand room and I felt it. Someone pushing against my shield. "Where is Tristan?"

"Janus and Tiber convinced him to join. He is fighting alongside them."

"Edward, I can't let him do that!" I pulled free of him and ran towards Tristan. Edward grabbed me by the waist and swung me back. I landed in a crouch and looked up at him. "You don't understand!"

"Bella what is there to understand? We need to get you out of here. We cannot have you found. Especially with him!"

"Tristan will never forgive himself if he harms anyone. He can't do this."

"Bella, if you let me get you out of here I will go after Tristan myself."

"He is close I need to go to him. Please trust me Edward. I am not as breakable anymore."

He let my waist go and I ran towards Tristan. I saw Marcus and the carnage surrounding him. He was fighting off two of the guards and I jumped into the fight.

"Was this part of your master plan Marcus?"

"No, but it is working in my favor." He kicked one of the guards clear across the room and Edward was on him before he could recover. Marcus took on the remaining guard and it was over. I refused to look. I heard a growl behind me. I turned to face the twins. Their bodies were riddled with bite marks and they shared the same cold expression.

I felt Janus' ability try to penetrate my shield against Marcus. I looked between them and Tiber sent a gust of wind to knock Marcus off his feet.

"Stop!" I screamed.

"He is an enemy Isabella do not fall for his lies!"

"If they kill me who will protect you?"

They were arguing their points.

"If we kill you she will not need protection!"

"I have her protection until dawn." He looked at me daring me to deny it.

"He is telling the truth." Tristan boomed from the hall. He entered the room with a dead stare. "He is on our side he just is not in the loop."

"Where is the rest of the family?" I asked Tristan

"Aro and his children are in the feeding room. Caius is dead. His children with him."

I looked at Tiber with worry in my eyes. He looked strong.

"Janus what is going on?"

"I am now his bonded."

"No!" Marcus and I said together.

"Now Aro controls both of you." I clarified.

"I wouldn't let him die." He hissed at me through his teeth.

Tristan had Janus on his back and Edward sprang to keep Tiber away from them. I jumped to Tristan's side and with our combined strength we had him pinned to the floor. Marcus and Edward followed our lead.

"This is the only way to succeed in your plan now." Tristan whispered to him.

You could see the clarity of those words on his eyes and even though he still struggled he was resigned to his fate.

"Blessed Be" Janus whispered in response and I bit his neck.

His body went limp under my hand. Tristan looked away and I noticed Tiber was in pain. His rage was taking over him. I walked over.

"Blessed be and merry meet again." Tiber managed to get out over his dry sobs.

I bit his neck and we threw them into a fire that Tristan started. Their ashes reuniting them in their final adventure.

The numbness that I had felt with Irina was present, but I was left with my sense. Tristan held me and I knew he had suffered the same reality when he killed Caius. This is our life now and the old rules do not apply. Now we have a revolution to lead and we must get it together.

We were joined by the remaining members of our militia. We had eight plus me and Tristan. Marcus had ten who were loyal to him.

Aro had the most powerful vamps in his corner. We had the numbers and the loyalty. When we stormed the room and rendered their abilities useless we won easily. Aro begged for his life and we let Marcus dispense justice on behalf of his dear Didmye. Tristan and I were able to stand together and help judge those who opposed us. Marcus offered amnesty to those who abandoned Aro and the new vampire royal family was born. We declined any title, but we knew that we had earned respect in this new world.

We flew home the next evening. Edward held me the entire flight. Tristan sat in the back of the plane and to everyone else he must have seemed like he was sleeping, but I knew he was learning to live with himself. Every once in a while I would feel Edward kiss my hair. I would bring him closer to me, but I didn't have the heart to speak yet. I wanted to be able to live my life when this plane landed. I would use this flight to expel this guilt and hurt from my soul.

We arrived in Seattle and were received by the rest of my family. Alice was bouncing up and down. I ran to her and she wrapped her arms around me.

"I missed you so much!" Alice gushed.

"I missed you too." I gushed right back.

Emmett picked me up "C'mere little sister!" He squeezed me and I gently squeezed him back. I hugged the rest of my family and they opened their arms to Tristan. Edward held me as they welcomed us to the Cullen family. It felt so good to be home.

**(A/N: Sorry it was so heavy! Thanks for participating in the poll. No surprise Edward won 2-1! We have come to the end of the story, but I have a couple more chapters in me for you. I have already started writing my next FF. Please keep an eye out for it!)**


	22. Tua Cantante

**(Twilight theme by Stephanie Meyer)**

We relocated soon after our homecoming.

While we were gone two teenagers were involved in a bad accident on their way to California. The couple was driving to Los Angeles to start over with the profit from the sale of their songwriting company to a private investment firm. [Cullen Inc.] Their classic 67' GTO was found in pieces and the bodies were not recovered. The trunk revealed that the passengers were Isabella Swan (18) and Tristan Xavier (20). After an in-depth search investigators came to the conclusion that their bodies had drifted off to sea. They shared a memorial service in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Crimson summer tour that year was dedicated to Tristan X. The story became big news in the U.S. and a CD containing demos and misc. songs was released the following year. Tristan Xavier became another young star taken away too young. He became a new cautionary tale for the youth of America. Tristan was pleased, but when one of the songs we wrote came on the radio I could see a twinge of regret in his features. He had always wanted to be immortal through his music and he got what he wanted. Cullen Inc has quite a few offers for the song rights or story rights, but so far they have not accepted the offers. One studio in Hollywood even wanted to make a movie about the great romance and music. Tristan thought about it, but I think Edward talked him out of it.

What about my love life? Well the first night back in Forks was beautiful. My family was safe again and even with the mourning my human family was dealing with I had no choice but to move on and know it was for the best. At dusk Edward and I stole away to his room and lay on his couch.

"I am so happy to be home."

"You don't know how much it pleases me that you finally consider this home."

He kissed me and it felt as though we melted into one another. In the past this is as far as our interaction went. We didn't have to worry about that anymore. Slowly he was on top of me and we were making out like any other teenage couple. I felt his hands along my rib cage bringing us closer and closer to one another. I ran my fingers through his hair and our kiss grew passionate. When our lips parted it didn't take long for his to relocate to my neck then collar bone. He pulled himself into a sitting position and I followed. I sat on his lap and he didn't pull away. Almost without noticing our shirts were on the floor and we were closer than we ever had been. It was like we were trying to make up for all those months, weeks, days, seconds apart. My hands reached down to unbutton his jeans when he stopped me.

"I can't do this."

My eyes flew open to meet his. "What?" The familiar feeling of his rejection was crashing over me again. I did not understand it. We were finally equals; worthy of each other in every way. We put our relationship through so many trials. His body wanted to continue, I could feel that. What could be wrong?

"Bella, I love you so much and I want this. So badly I want this."

"Me too, I love you more than anything. Why are you stopping me from showing you how much I love you?"

"I want to do this the right way. I have made so many mistakes when it comes to you and I and I need to do at least one thing right for you."

"What do you mean?"

He lifted me off his lap and stood to walk to his closet. I put my shirt back on feeling over exposed. He returned shortly after and walked back to me. I didn't know what to do I stood next to the couch watching him. He stood in front of me looking so nervous.

"Isabella Marie Swan; my whole life has changed since you came in. Each day I am with you I am so glad you came into my life. I knew even back then that you were the special one. I'm so deep in love with you. You make my life complete."

He got down on one knee and I was in disbelief.

"Would you please allow me to spend the rest of my existence trying to make you as happy as you have made me?"

He pulled out a small velvet box and opened it revealing the most perfect ring. I felt like crying, I wish I were able to because the emotions I was feeling were fluttering around my still chest. Happiness and relief were fighting for the space my heart lay. I crumpled to my knees beside him. I couldn't even look him in the eyes.

He was silent, but I knew he needed me to vocally state my answer. I took an unnecessary breath and my answer came out in a whoosh of emotion. "Yes, yes a thousand times yes."

His features immediately relaxed and the smile that spread across his face made him even more perfect than he already was. He pulled me into him and we shared the most amazing kiss that either of us had ever experienced. He wanted me to be his forever. I never thought I ever wanted to get married, but now that I know it is what Edward wants it has taken priority in my mind. I love him so much and in that emotion I understand what marriage means. He was smiling and he slid the beautiful oval ring on my finger. We quickly got decent and heard Alice bounding up the stairs.

Edward opened the door and the little pixie threw her arms around my fiancé.

"I told you that you were meant to be!"

"Yes, you did. Thank you Alice."

"Bella come here!" I walked over and joined in the hug.

Tristan came in the room next and I showed off my ring. He grabbed up Edward in a huge hug as Alice grabbed me up.

Alice insisted on planning our wedding and after making her sweat I allowed it. We had a beautiful ceremony on Isle Esme. Carlisle officiated and Tristan walked me down the aisle. We kept the ceremony traditional with the exception of the line about till death do us part . . . We nixed it. I of course asked Alice to be my maid of honor and Edward surprised everyone by asking Tristan to be his best man. We were pronounced man and wife at sunset on the beach. It was the most perfect ceremony. Edward and I stayed on Isle Esme for a couple months. Let's just say that we were a perfect match in every way.

Since our honeymoon Tristan and Edward have become great friends. They still get annoyed with each other from time to time, but we have learned to split my attention between them. Tristan and I usually stand apart from the rest of our family, but we figure it is the mentality of the generation we were raised in. They all have their old world mentality and we are much more modern thinking. It makes for great late night debates. Emmett tends to join our side and we have become an unstoppable team.

We are located in Canada and it has been 25 years as a family. Today is the first day of school and we are setting into a routine. Another sleepy town with a small population which means that the gossip has already begun.

That is the Cullen Family. Their dad is the new doctor. He and his wife are really young but adopted all of them as teenagers. Isabella and Tristan Swan / Jasper and Rosalie Hale are twins. Then Emmett, Alice and Edward are siblings. Yeah and they are all together, you know, together . . .

Tristan draped his arm around me like a big brother does and we chatted.

_I am disappointed. I thought we would find some unique outlooks in this town._

Why? Every town the gossip is the same. Probably worse now that it is 7 teenagers living under one roof and they are all matched up.

_Almost all matched up._

Well, it is not our fault you are so picky.

_Well maybe this town will be different. You know I have always had a thing for girls that say __**aboot**__._

We laughed out loud and got a lot of odd looks from the students around us. Edward came up behind us with our schedules. He grabbed my hand and we started toward class. At this point we had no idea that Tristan's life would be changing. This was the day Tristan met the girl he would spend the rest of his existence with. History would repeat itself with my best friend in Edward's shoes as he finds his la tua cantante . . .

**(A/N: Thank you so much for reading my first fan fiction. I appreciate all the reviews and alerts. I have already started my next fan fiction titled Sink into me. It is all in EPOV which is fun to write. Please let me know what you enjoyed about this story!)**


	23. Author's Note

**(A/N:**

Thank you for all the reviews! If you are wondering what is next for Tristan and Bella, please check out Re-Education (Through Labor) the sequel, I just posted the first chapter.

Summary:

Sequel to Chain Me Free. New Town, new love, new blood. Can the newest Cullens keep up? **)**


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